Rivers of Hades
by dllang89
Summary: At age 9, Sarutobi decides Naruto is ready to find out about the Uzumaki clan and their power: to control the rivers of the Underworld. Main pairing: NarutoHinataTemari Rating may go up in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I am aware of this, and will take this down if need be.

Mini-disclaimer: I'm going to be introducing a little Greek/Roman mythology into the Naruto-verse. You don't like it, stop reading, don't try and roast me with scathing reviews.

Author's Note: The first arc of this fic is set when Naruto is around 9 or 10. Later, there will be a time skip to the start of the manga/anime.

**Rivers of Hades**

_Prologue_

An actual lunch break was a rare occurrence for Sarutobi. Normally, lunch was eaten in his office, so being able to leave was a treat. It was also rare for his lunch break to actually line up with the actual lunch hours. His path today happened to bring him past the academy. Seeing some academy students run past, he looked in the direction they had come from. What he saw came as a rather unusual sight to the aged village leader.

He saw a young blonde wearing orange sitting on a swing. The sight was not unusual, but the look on the boy's face was. The boy Sarutobi considered a second grandson (and hopefully his successor) was staring at the ground, not in depression or sorrow, but in deep thought, with just a hint of self-doubt. Wondering just what had happened, the Sandaime walked over.

"Is something the matter, Naruto-kun? You seem...distracted."

"Aw, hey oji-san. It's just something I've got on my mind."

"Did something happen at the academy today?"

"Not much. Just a lecture on famous or important shinobi in Konoha history. I didn't think it was that bad at first, but..."

"What about it?"

"It eventually turned into something like, 'if you're from a major clan, you're someone important. If you aren't, you won't amount to anything.'"

"Ah, I see. Are you giving up on your dream to replace me?" Despite his light tone, Sarutobi was _deeply_ worried. Not just for what could happen if Naruto decided he no longer wanted to defend the village, but more importantly, if Naruto didn't want his job anymore, that meant that he couldn't retire again, and would be forced to continue with the damned paperwork. Currently, there were only two people in the entire village who had both expressed a desire to take over as Hokage and the potential to actually make it. Naruto was one, and the other was his biological grandson, Konohamaru. Danzo may want the job, but Sarutobi had made sure that no amount of scheming, even with the council, the entire village, or even the Fire Daimyo supporting him, would let Danzo get his war-mongering hands on the office of Hokage.

"No, I still want your hat, but the lecture made it sound as if you had to be from a major clan in order to ever be really great. I think I know better than anyone else how hard it is to try to become a ninja without generations of shinobi in your family, or without clan techniques to learn."

As Sarutobi listened, he was impressed by how mature Naruto could be when he wanted to. '_Sigh...If only you knew the truth. Well, maybe there is something I can do to help. He seems to be ready for at least part of it.'_

"Naruto-kun, after the academy lets out for the day, stop by my office. There's something I think you should have."

"Huh? What do you mean, oji-san?"

"You'll see." That was all the wizened old man said before he walked off to find lunch before he returned to the tower to face a seemingly invincible foe.

-- -

Next Chapter: The Talk


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Last I heard, someone named Kishimoto does. Maybe Shonen Jump. I'm not sure, and I'm too lazy to find out.

Author's Note: This chapter is mostly, well almost entirely, conversation between Sarutobi and Naruto, in order to set things up for the majority of the story. Just thought you should know.

**Rivers of Hades**

_Chapter One_

Three hours later, Naruto snuck towards the Hokage tower. Last time, he had tried to walk in like everyone else did. That didn't go so well, and Naruto found himself hanging upside down from a nearby tree while various villagers and some shinobi beat him. Luckily, the old man had heard the noise and intervened personally. He hadn't seen any of them since.

When he got within sight of the tower, he looked and gave a sigh of relief. The two guards outside the tower were some of the nicer shinobi, at least from his viewpoint. Two of the ANBU, Inu and Neko, were in plain sight, situated so that they could quickly stop anything that could happen Since they were on duty, he'd be able to get into the tower unharmed.

Forcing himself to ignore the glares he got when he stepped out into the street, he made his way to the tower, smiling at the guards at he walked in. When he got to the waiting room in front of the Hokage's office, the secretary told him to go right on in.

--

Sarutobi was thanking the Kami that while he had been out, his paperwork had only grown by about 25, instead of the usual 50-60. He looked up when he heard the door open, and broke out into a smile when he saw Naruto enter.

"Ah, good. You made it in safely."

"Sure did, oji-san. The villagers didn't do anything more than glare since Inu-san and Neko-chan were out there."

"Well, take a seat and let's get started." Once Naruto had taken a seat, Sarutobi took a deep breath and began to organize his thoughts. "Naruto, what I have to tell you is going to be very difficult for you, I would imagine. It concerns your parents."

"My parents? You know who my parents were? Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Yondaime himself, before he died, ordered me not to tell you any of this until I thought you were ready. Even now, I can't tell you everything. Some of it will have to wait until either you turn sixteen, or make Chuunin, whichever comes first."

That stopped Naruto cold. The Yondaime had ordered the old man not to say anything about his parents? What could have possibly made him do that? And there was still more that he couldn't find out until later?

"Are...are my parents still alive?" That was probably the quietest he had ever been in his life.

"Sigh...No. Your mother died soon after you were born. The Kyuubi attack sent her into premature labor, and the stress was just too much. She lived just long enough to name you, and died. Your father died fighting the Kyuubi."

Naruto's eyes dimmed a little after hearing that, especially how his mother died.

"I see. Then what am I doing here?"

"You're here to find out about your mother and her family, the Uzumaki clan."

Naruto's head shot up. "Wait, the Uzumaki CLAN?! And what about my dad's family?"

"Your father's side of the family is what you need to wait for. It was part of what I was told to do concerning you. I was told by the Yondaime that when I judged you ready, to tell you about your mother. When you met either of the requirements for your father's will, you would find out then."

"Wow... So what can you tell me about my mom?"

"Her name was Uzumaki Kushina, heiress of the Uzumaki clan, from Uzu no Kuni."

That got a raised eyebrow from Naruto. "Wait, heiress? And was my family named after the country, or was the country named for my family?"

"Uzu no Kuni was named for the numerous whirlpools which doted her coast. The Uzumaki clan,

before their demise during the collapse of the country, were one of the strongest clans there, as they were one of the few shinobi clans to be found there."

"Whoa. So I'm the last Uzumaki?"

"You are the last _known_ Uzumaki in existence. It's always possible that some of the other clan members survived. For that matter, you are also the last known member of your father's clan."

"I thought you couldn't tell me about him yet."

"You're right, Naruto-kun, I can't tell you much about him. I can't give you his name or whatever inheritance he may have left you, not yet. I can, however, share other, more general, information."

"Oh... So what else do I need to know?"

"Since you aren't that far into the academy, I'll try to simplify this. The Uzumaki clan, in general, had either water or wind as their primary affinity, with the other one as their secondary affinity. This means that they could use Suiton and Fuuton jutsu more easily than the other three types. One of the other pieces of information on your father's clan I can tell you is that they also shared these two affinities, although on occasion, some showed an affinity for Raiton as well."

"So do I have a kekkai genkai or something like that?"

"Well, I'm not sure about that, honestly. Neither of your parent's clans had one, but there is a possibility that the mixture of the two could result in one. We haven't noticed one in you yet, but that could always change later."

"I'll let you know if anything happens, then. So, what made you decide I was ready for all of this, oji-san?"

"Our conversation earlier, at the academy. Both your parents and their clans believed that relying solely on kekkai genkai or clan techniques was foolish. They also felt that such things did not merit special treatment."

Naruto blinked at this. "But in Konoha, that's exactly how things are! If you come from a clan with a kekkai genkai, you're almost guaranteed to be treated like royalty here. The teme is proof of that! How could my parents stand it?"

Sarutobi calmly nodded. "They struggled with it. They hoped that they would be able to change that. They argued with most of the village on the subject. Both clans had believed for a very long time that over-reliance would eventually weaken the shinobi, and become more of a liability than an advantage. So, both clans made it a point to learn as much as they could in any area. They not only learned many different ninjutsu of all types, but tai-, gen-, ken-, and even fuinjutsu. They also expanded that philosophy into non-shinobi areas, too, learning many different crafts and skills. You come from two families of very self-reliant people, Naruto-kun. When I heard you talk about that lecture, I knew you were ready."

At this point, Naruto was in shock, his jaw hanging open. In a little over an hour, he had learned a rather staggering amount about people he would never meet. He may not have any emotional connection to either side of his family, but he found that he was strangely determined to do his best to live up to their high standards.

After taking a little time to gather his wits, he asked, "So... What's next?"

"Next come your mother's clan techniques." Seeing the look on Naruto's face, Sarutobi answered the question before it was even asked. "I said your parents did not approve of relying on clan techniques, not that they didn't have any. I have had the honor of seeing six of your mother's most powerful clan jutsu in action, one of which qualifies as an A-Rnk kinjutsu, and have knowledge of a seventh, an S-Rank kinjutsu."

Nothing could have removed Naruto from the office now. "Wha-what are they?"

Silently, Sarutobi got up from his chair, walked to the back of his office, and opened up a hidden safe behind a false wall with pictures of the holders of the Hokage title. He removed two scrolls, and returned to his desk. He handed one of the scrolls to Naruto, which was sealed with a spiral emblem.

"That Naruto, is everything of the Uzumaki clan archives that can be found within the walls of Konoha. I was made aware that there is a complete library, located underneath what was once the Uzumaki clan compound in Uzu no Kuni. When you are ready for it, you will travel there and retrieve it, if you wish. To this day, the library is undisturbed, as it can only be found, let alone opened by a blood member of the Uzumaki.

Sarutobi waited a few moments for the boy to process that, then continued.

"Now, as for the jutsu I spoke of. It is said that long ago, there were five rivers to be found in Hell: Acheron, the river of sorrow, Cocytus, the icy river of lamentation, Phlegethon, the river of fire, Lethe, the river of forgetfulness, and Styx, river of hate. There were also rumors of a sixth river, Mnemosyne, river of memory. The Uzumaki clan was gifted with the ability to call upon these waters in battle, to great and terrible effect."

Naruto had to manually close his jaw. His mother's family could do that, and they chose not to over-use it? Finally, he manage to say, "That's only six, and which two were the kinjutsu?"

"Each river, when called upon in battle, would produce the effect associated with it. The waters of the Acheron would cause an opponent to be consumed in sorrow. Phlegethon waters would burn continuously, even in the absence of fuels, and so on. The Lethe water, which is the A-Rank, would cause the target to forget anything the user wished. Imagine being able to cause your opponent to forget every technique he or she knows, or making their body forget how to activate a kekkai genkai, even if their mind still remembers how. Hell, you could even make their body forget how to properly channel chakra, ruining their control.

Bug-eyed and chalk-white, Naruto found his voice. "Holy crap! I'm almost afraid to ask about the S-Rank."

"Mnemosyne is the S-Rank, and the one I have never seen. The water would cause someone who drank or was soaked with it to become all-knowing, a mortal god, as it were."

Naruto's jaw found its way to the floor, then through it. "Yowza! That's definitely an S-Rank jutsu!"

"I'm not finished. The human mind is not capable of handling that kind of power. As a result, the afflicted person is driven incurably insane."

"H-how is this possible? To call upon the rivers of Hell, it would be like...like summoning the Shinigami to battle your foes."

Naruto missed Sarutobi flinching at how close he came to describing the final events of the Kyuubi attack.

"I know. It seems too good to be true, yet it is. Finally, the seventh technique is a summoning technique that can only be done near a large, open body of water, like a sea or an ocean. It is known as Kuchiyose: Charybdis. It summons a creature who then creates a giant, inescapable, whirlpool to consume your enemies."

At this point, Naruto was taking shallow, ragged breaths, gripping the Uzumaki scroll hard enough to turn his knuckles white. "I-I-I don't know what to say, oji-san. This is unbelievable. My mother's clan could do stuff like this, and chose not to? Also, how in Kami's name could they have gained the ability to do this?"

Sarutobi closed his eyes, nodded, and made a hmmm-ing sound. Then, he replied, "Naruto-kun, to answer your last question, I have no idea. I never had the chance to ask your mother about it. I would suspect that you might find the answer in the Uzumaki library when you're older."

"Al-alright. Now what's with the other scroll?" Naruto asked, looking at the second scroll for the first time.

"This is your father's clan scroll, your final inheritance when you are ready. I can't give it to you yet, but I want you to know what it looks like and where it is kept." That was Sarutobi's reply as he showed Naruto the emblem holding this scroll shut, wind blowing across the sea, creating waves. He then replaced the scroll in the safe, locking it, and hiding it once again.

"Why is that?"

"I am a ninja, not to mention Hokage, and am required to be realistic. No matter how hard I may try, there is always the chance that I will not be the one to give you this. I may, some time in the next few years, find someone to become the Godaime, and retire again. You would then need to get the scroll from them. I am also an old man, and have lived well beyond the average life expectancy for a ninja. I may die before you meet the requirements to obtain your father's will."

That sobered Naruto. "Oh... so, what now?"

"I want you to channel some chakra into this." Sarutobi handed Naruto a white card, one side covered with seals.

"I've seen some shinobi use things like this. But they didn't have seals on them."

"Those are used to test one's primary affinity. This will analyze the strength of your affinity to all five elements."

"Ok." Channeling chakra into the paper, Naruto saw five different colored bars appear on a graph. Handing the card back to the Sandaime, he waited for the verdict.

"Well, wind is your primary affinity. Water is second, like I said it would be. You have a mild affinity for earth, not as strong as wind and water, but better than average. Fire and lightning, however, are almost beyond your grasp. It will take a lot more effort to properly learn, use, or master those elemental techniques."

"So if I want to use a lot of fire and lightning jutsu, they're going to be very difficult?"

"Yes. It will take about two or three times more effort than someone who has it as a primary affinity."

"Huh. Well, I really don't know how much more I can handle."

A smirk found its way to the old man's at this. '_Then this should be good for a laugh or two._' "One last thing, before you go, then. When you eventually get married, it would be best for her to be a wind or water affinity as well, if she's a kunoichi."

He wasn't disappointed. That proved to be enough to snap Naruto's mind, and he blacked out, falling out of the chair.

"Ahh, that was worth it." Chuckling, Sarutobi got Naruto over to a couch on the side of his office, one normally reserved for when he needed a break, but couldn't leave the office.

Half an hour later, he heard the moans and groan signaling Naruto's return to consciousness.

"Ugh... what in the elemental countries happened?"

"Heh, heh. You took in a little too much in one sitting."

"Yeah... I'll be going, then. I want to start reading this as soon as I can."

"Actually, that's a storage scroll. Inside are seals containing pretty much everything your mother wanted you to have now. I'd imagine inside you'd find information on clan policies, taijutsu styles, other clan jutsu, and things like that. You might even find pictures or a journal."

"Oh, cool. I'll have to visit if there's something I don't understand. For some reason, the academy teachers don't answer my questions."

'_Sigh... I don't believe this. I'm too old for this._' "Feel free to visit when you can. You'll probably get some experience in my job if you do."

"Cool!! One thing I want to figure out is how to take care of all this paperwork. You always seem to be doing that whenever you're here, and I don't want to be stuck in here all the time."

"Naruto-kun, if you can find a way to defeat this paperwork, I will personally train you to take over for me."

That got a big grin out of the boy. "Be careful. I might just take you up on that offer."

"If you can show me a way to finish this up in less time, you will have earned it."

"I'll see what I can think of, then. Bye oji-san." With that Naruto headed off for Ichiraku's, then home.

-- -

Ok, so pairing wise, I'm thinking one of two girls. Hinata and Temari. I could stretch it to fit Tenten, but the way I see the story going would work best with Hinata or Temari. I don't have a problem with other pairings, but they wouldn't work for this fic.

As far as making this into a harem fic, it's a possibility, but I wouldn't go beyond the three girls I've named. I find it annoying when harem fics have every female character ever named go after one guy, unless that was the intent of the original work. Two or three girls, however, I have no problem with.

Here's the part I want your input on. Should Naruto take Sarutobi up on his offer when he graduates? You'll have a couple chapters to decide.

Next chapter: New Training


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Not so sure I'd want to, either. Seems like a lot of work.

AN: This chapter has Kakashi in it. Here, he's a bit more helpful/concerned than he appears to be in canon, and he will continue to be this way. Got a problem with that? Read my profile.

Also, this will be a Naruto/Hinata/Temari pairing. I had wanted to include Tenten, but that just ain't happening in this fic. Another time, perhaps.

**Rivers of Hades**

_Chapter 2_

It had been two weeks since the Hokage had given Naruto his mother's inheritance. Naruto had put the time to good use. He had read through the clan information several times, making trips to visit Sarutobi when he needed something explained. Between the scroll and the Sandaime, he had figured out how his mother wound up in Konoha.

Five years before Naruto's birth, the Uzumaki clan, before the demise of Uzu no Kuni, decided that there was a very good chance that the clan would be destroyed. As a result, they decided to put a failsafe plan into action. Favors were called in, and it was arranged for one member of the Uzumaki clan to travel to and reside in each of the five great ninja villages. That way, regardless of what happened to the majority of the clan, someone, in theory, would be able to preserve and restore the clan. Sarutobi filled in the gaps as to what had happened to the other four.

The clansman sent to Kirigakure was unfortunately caught up in a riot resulting from the bloodline massacre. Since the Uzumaki had no kekkai genkai, he wasn't a target. He was a bystander who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Uzumaki sent to Kumogakure had run afoul of the Raikage's supporters. Even back then, the Raikage had lusted after the Byakugan of the Hyuuga clan, believing it would bring them power. The clan member had, true to the Uzumaki beliefs, made several arguments over how the Byakugan and the Jyuuken alone would not ensure a rise in power. Later, she was found dead, having been tortured and mutilated horribly. By this point, the rest of the clan had fallen, so there were no worries over breaking the contract ensuring her safety.

The third person, who, according to Sarutobi, was Naruto's cousin, had been sent to Iwagakure. He never arrived. The escort party was ambushed about halfway though the journey by an unknown group, and the recovery team that was dispatched could not find his body. Sarutobi told Naruto that if there were any other surviving Uzumaki, it would be this cousin. Finally, the woman sent to Sunagakure died shortly after her arrival there. The caravan taking her to Suna was attacked by bandits. She helped fight them off, but a bandit struck a lethal blow. She died two days later in the Suna hospital.

Naruto was now preparing to try and learn some of his clan techniques. He was annoyed to find out that more than half of the jutsu listed as Uzumaki-only could only be performed near a large body of water, like a sea or ocean, or lacking that, a deep, fast-moving river. One such jutsu was the **Naruto no jutsu**, which simply couldn't be performed in land-locked Konoha. That one he had _really_ wanted to learn, if only because it had his name on it. He had also gotten Sarutobi's help preparing him for the day he would be ready to learn the six River techniques. The scroll with the information on them had included a set of seals that needed to be applied somewhere on the body in order to use the techniques. The seals themselves were nothing more than the sets of kanji for the attributes of each of the six Rivers (hatred, sorrow, etc.), and when properly applied, looked like tattoos. When asked where he wanted them, Naruto had them placed between his shoulders.

Right now, he was getting set to try one of the chakra control exercises specially developed by the Uzumaki clan. While the academy teachers had shown the students one involving a leaf, he wasn't doing so well with it, and the teachers would berate him for his lack of progress, when they weren't ignoring him outright. Then he had read in the scroll that, by default, an Uzumaki had poor chakra control using the standard control exercises, until they had at least attempted the Uzumaki ones. Hoping that this would remedy his troubles, he had spoken to the old man, and now Inu-san was accompanying him to an empty training ground.

According to the scroll, the exercise required a naturally formed whirlpool. Since Konoha was land-locked, Naruto had to improvise, and the scroll had provided a way to perform the exercise inland. All that was required was a pool of water at least five feet deep and ten feet wide. The training ground Naruto was heading for had a small waterfall with a basin that met the requirements. Once there, he would have to use a technique to create a whirlpool in the basin, and use chakra to hold himself on top of the whirlpool, and not get sucked under. In order to master the exercise, he would need to be able to successfully walk against the current inside a whirlpool spinning at full power. Now to any observer, this would have looked and sounded ridiculous. An academy student, attempting a harder variation of the water-walking exercise?

Naruto, however, was aware of the trick to helping him learn it safely. The jutsu that would create the whirlpool relied on the amount of chakra applied to affect the size and speed of the whirlpool. Since he lacked the ability to properly control the chakra used or to use the jutsu and hold himself up at the same time, Inu-san would be in control of the technique. Should Naruto fall in, Inu-san could quickly cancel the jutsu and pull him out. Since this was a nameless technique, designed specifically for training, Naruto had no reservations about showing Inu-san how to perform it.

Once they arrived, Naruto set down a backpack containing some towels and a change of clothes. For this exercise, he was wearing black swimming trunks and a white undershirt, since he didn't want to walk home in a soaking wet orange jumpsuit if he could help it.

"Ready, Naruto-kun?" came the slightly distorted voice from behind the porcelain dog mask.

After Naruto nodded, the ANBU began channeling chakra into the water, causing it to spin. In less than a minute, a whirlpool matching the description of the beginner's level of the exercise had formed. Naruto took a moment to focus and began channeling chakra to his feet like he was told. As one would expect, he didn't stay on top at all, but for this, it didn't matter. For beginners, all that mattered was not touching the bottom and using chakra to hold yourself in place as long as possible. Then, as control improved, you would push yourself up further out of the water until you could stand on the water.

The water was cold, but not too bad. Inu-san's chakra had the extra effect of warming the water slightly. It had been warmed enough to where Naruto wouldn't be risking hypothermia. Had there not been the waterfall continuously adding cold water, and the stream taking away the warmed water, it could have been better.

After an hour, Naruto was told to come out, so Inu-san could give his chakra coils a much-needed rest.

The ANBU muttered, "Geez, creating and sustaining the whirlpool must double as a chakra-building technique. It's harder than it looks."

"That may be true, but the control part of it sure works. Check it out!" Naruto had decided to see if there was any noticeable improvement with the leaf exercise, and there was. Before, the leaf had hovered about a foot above where it was supposed to, and Naruto's efforts in the past hour had shaved two or three inches off of the height.

"Interesting. Normally, you would be a jounin before you could hold the leaf that far off your body."

"Really? So I'm almost jounin level? That's awesome!" Naruto started jumping up and down at that.

"Whoa, hold on there. The only things remotely close to jounin level about you are your stamina and chakra reserves. The combination of jounin level chakra reserves and sub-Academy student level control is just asking for trouble."

"So...do you think maybe that's why I have so much trouble with the bunshin? My henge and kawarimi are pretty bad too, but I can at least make them work halfway decently."

"It is possible. Normally, by the time a ninja makes jounin, or even chuunin, they've already learned an advanced bunshin jutsu, and either stop using the academy one altogether, or only use it rarely. To be honest, the only shinobi I can think of that regularly use the basic bunshin are the academy teachers."

"Advanced bunshin? Can you teach me one? Please?" Naruto begged, even attempting puppy dog eyes, but it only succeeded in making the ANBU laugh.

"Nice try, but that doesn't work on me. Only women can pull that off really well. As for the jutsu, I don't think so. If you already a genin, I'd consider it, but not an Academy student."

"Crud. Then, would you at least tell me about them?"

"Hmm. Okay, I'll tell you about the two most common bunshin techniques besides the academy one. Then, we go back to training. Deal?"

"You got it!" Naruto was glad he had gotten that much of the ANBU. Normally, no one besides the old man would answer his questions.

"Alright. After the academy-level bunshin, the most common technique is the **Mizu Bunshin**, which forms solid clones from nearby water sources. If there isn't a water source nearby, you need to pull water from the air around you, which is very difficult. Only the Nidaime was good enough to do it on a regular basis, earning him a reputation as a very powerful ninja. After that, there's the**Tsuchi bunshin**. Again, it forms solid clones, this time out of the ground around you, so it can be used in more places. Now then, back into the water."

"Ok, ok. Thanks for the info though. Should I try holding myself in place longer, or start trying to push myself out of the water?"

"Well, whatever you do, don't go one way or another. In order to master this, you need to be able to do both at the same time. You can't do that if you don't try to combine the two at some point before then. Right now, I'd focus more on staying in place more, and try to raise yourself up a little bit."

"Oh. Ok." With that, Naruto resumed the exercise, trying to work on two different things at once. By the time the two decided to call it a day, Naruto could hold himself about two inches out of the water and hold fall in for about ten minutes. Not the best, but not too shabby for one day's effort. He also had the leaf exercise down to the point where it would have earned a pass for any student (except him).

"So, 4:00 on Monday, Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah, that should work. I'll be done with the academy for the day by then. I think I'll just spend the rest of today working on a clan taijutsu style I saw. The scroll says that a master of this style can beat both the Sharingan and the Byakugan."

That got the ANBU's attention. "Many ninja claim to have developed a that a style like that, but they've all failed. So how does yours work?"

"Well, both doujutsu allow the user to see chakra. So, to counter them, you channel so much chakra that it either blinds them if you're fighting a Hyuuga, or makes it so they can't see what you're doing, if it's a Uchiha. They would know only the most general of movements, like which direction you would come in at, or if you're going to punch or kick, but wouldn't be able to see if it is a closed fist, an open fist, or a hand weapon attacking. Also, doing this prevents them from copying jutsu. They can't copy the seals if they can't see the seals, right?"

The ANBU was at a loss. '_It makes sense in theory, but how does he know so much?_' "I suppose, but how do you know so much about their kekkai genkai? That sort of information is highly classified."

"Before she died, my mom took notes on all the kekkai genkai in the village, and came up with a bunch of possible strategies on how to beat them. It's up to me to see if any of them work, though."

'_This should be interesting._' The ANBU muttered to himself, "I should have known. The Uzumaki dislike of kekkai genkai was legendary in the shinobi world. Of course she would have wanted to prove her point here, where kekkai genkai are worshiped."

"Um, Inu-san?" The ANBU turned to look at Naruto. "My clan didn't dislike kekkai genkai, at least not not as much as what you might think. They disliked it when clans became dependent on them to fight. Second, you knew my mother?"

"I knew **of** her, but I never really got the chance to meet her. What I do know is that she had a reputation as being a true kunoichi, not some pathetic fan-girl type. Now, I thought you were orphaned at birth. How could you know about the Uzumaki clan?"

"I was. Mom died after I was born, and my dad died fighting the Kyuubi. The Yondaime had ordered the old man not to tell me about Mom until I was ready. He told me about two or three weeks ago."

'_Sensei, what could have prompted you to do that?_' "What about your father and his family?"

"Not much. Oji-san said that most of that would have to wait until I either turn sixteen or make Chuunin. What I do know is that they had pretty much the same attitude as the Uzumaki on things like kekkai genkai."

'_Huh. Why does this sound so familiar?_' "Anything else?"

"Yeah. The rest of my inheritance is in a scroll in oji-san's office, sealed with a emblem dealing with wind and waves."

Naruto heard the sound of someone choking, and looked at the ANBU, only to see him lying on his back, coughing.

'_By the Kami! There's no way he could be sensei's son! I mean, aside from the hair, the...eyes, and ...oh shit. Damn it, how could I miss this? Without the whiskers, he looks just like sensei! Hatake, you idiot! Take you own advice and look underneath the underneath!_'

"Are you okay, Inu-san?"

"Ahh, yeah. A fly flew into my mask and down my throat."

'_How could a fly get though that mask?_' "Alright, I'll see you on Monday, then. Bye."

Naruto walked out of the training area, leaving the ANBU to sit up, one thought running through his head.

'_I need to talk to Sandaime-sama about this._'

-- -

Next time: Back to the academy.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto, and I still don't want to.

AN: Well, before I start getting complaints, I want to address my policy on jutsu translation. Yes, I will do it, but I don't plan to do it with the more common ones, like Mizu Bunshin. Depending on how familiar you are with romanized Japanese, or Japanese in general, you might not know the translation, which is 'water clone'. However, if enough people complain, I will relent and translate each and every one I can.

Also, if I botch a jutsu name, like using the wrong word, or mess up the grammar, by all means, tell me. I am terrible at properly translating stuff. But please make sure no one else has called me on it already first.

**Rivers of Hades**

_Chapter 3_

Following his new training program had sent Naruto to bed exhausted. In the morning, he was refreshed, although he was still a little sore. He was now headed towards the academy to see if his new regimen had done enough compared to his classmates' training.

--

Meanwhile, over at the Hokage tower, Sarutobi was about to have an unexpected visitor.

"Sandaime-sama, Inu-san is here to see you."

Sarutobi looked up from his paperwork to his receptionist. There wasn't too much paperwork to do at the moment, but the day had just started, and the village certainly had enough trees to generate more.

"Hmm... I wasn't expecting this at all. Send him in."

Bowing, the receptionist backed out of the office as an ANBU in a dog mask walked in.

"Good morning, Hokage-sama."

"Morning, Kakashi-san. No book today? This must be serious."

"I believe it is. It has to do with Naruto."

"I see. How did his training go yesterday?"

"Very well. He is as good as can be expected from someone still in the academy. Also, the whirlpool technique apparently doubles as a chakra-building exercise. Just from those few hours I was performing it, my reserves grew a noticeable amount. Yet that isn't what I was here for."

"Then what brings you here?"

"I'll be blunt, Hokage-sama. Is Naruto my sensei's son?"

That got an eyebrow to rise from the Sandaime.

"An unusual question. Why do you ask?"

"When we took a break, Naruto told me about his inheritance from his mother, and said that his father's will was in a scroll in your office, sealed with an emblem of wind and waves. Sensei was the only person in Konoha with that type of family crest. Also, once I got a good look at him, he looks too much like sensei for it to be coincidence. Is there something I should know?"

"I hoped he would have had more sense than to tell someone else about that scroll, but he is only ten. At any rate, you're right. He is the son and heir of Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage, as well as Uzumaki Kushina. He is the last known living member of both clans."

"Why wasn't anyone told? It might have helped him get adopted. Surely sensei could have arranged that for his son, rather than trust the villagers."

"Minato didn't trust the villagers."

"Wait, what? He said he wanted Naruto to seen as a hero. Doesn't that mean he had faith, however misguided, in the village?"

"Yes and no. Yondaime believed in the village, but not the villagers. There is a difference. He was willing to lay down his life to protect the village. However, he was well aware of the fact that most of the villagers would probably ignore his dying wish. Yet, he gave them a chance to prove him wrong, by honoring his wish. So far, he's been proven right. He also made sure that Naruto couldn't be adopted, and set penalties in his will in case anything should happen to Naruto."

"He made sure Naruto couldn't be adopted? What penalties? You lost me, Hokage-sama."

"If Naruto were to be adopted, his new parents would have complete control over his inheritance from both his mother and father. What would stop them from killing Naruto after that, and keeping everything? That was how Yondaime saw it, so he made it impossible for anyone, even me, to adopt him under most circumstances. I'm sorry to admit he seems to be right about that as well."

"And these penalties you spoke of?"

"I'm not aware of all of them, but I know of some. There is a stipulation in the will leaving a very sizable amount of money to the village. It can only be accessed by Naruto himself when he turns eighteen. He also has final say in whether or not the money is ever given to the village."

"So the village could be stabbing itself in the foot for all we know. Why wasn't Naruto sent outside the village then? He could have lived the life you wanted for him elsewhere."

"The contract with the Uzumaki clan prevents that. When Kushina died, the contract passed on to Naruto, guaranteeing him residence within the village. Much as they might want to, the council can't exile Naruto or order his death, under any circumstances. Should either happen, we would lose much of our funding."

"Except for Naruto, isn't the Uzumaki clan dead? How could our funding be cut?"

"There is one member who hasn't been located. Anyway, the contract was made using the Fire Daimyo as a middleman. Should anything happen to Naruto while he is within Hi no Kuni, short of death by an attacking foreign nin, or if he should die in the Chuunin exams, the Daimyo is to cut our budget by about thirty percent, as is stated in the contract."

"Wow... They've really got us in a tight spot then."

"Yes, they do. The question remains, what are you going to do now with this information?"

"I think I'm going to give Naruto a little bit of extra training. Nothing major, just some help correcting what the academy teachers might have done to sabotage him. Maybe teach him some easy jutsu. I don't think that's unreasonable."

"I see no problem with that, and will arrange for you to do so. I would, however, ask you to tell Naruto not to speak of his father's will. That must be kept a secret."

"Yes sir, Hokage-sama."

"Now then, we need to get over to the academy soon."

--

Naruto couldn't believe his luck. The normal teacher was out sick, and the replacement teacher was the one teacher in the academy who seemed to like him, a chuunin named Umino Iruka. Also, he had actually managed to arrive on time, if not a little early, so things were really looking up. Now all he needed was a good seat.

Normally, he would try to get a seat next to Sakura-chan, but she and the only other blond in the class, a girl named Ino, had just gotten into a fight over who got to sit next to Sasuke-teme. Sakura had lost, and dumb as Naruto could be sometimes, he decided that trying to sit next to her today was not a good idea. That left him sitting next to Kiba and a really shy girl in a bulky beige jacket. He just hoped she wasn't a Sasuke fan, too. He wasn't sure he could take that.

"Hey, is it alright if I sit here?"

"Yeah, sure. What, you aren't even going try today?"

"Are you kidding? I can see the storm clouds over her head. I really don't feel like dying today."

"Fair enough. Grab a seat."

Naruto sat down on the other side of the kunoichi-in-training, who instantly started fidgeting with her fingers and turning red.

"Um... Hinata is it?" The girl nodded, mumbling something Naruto couldn't make out. "Are you ok? You look like you're overheated. Maybe you should take off the jacket."

That proved too much for Hinata, who promptly gained a full-face blush and fainted.

"What happened up there?" came the call from Iruka, who had heard the thud at the front of the room.

Naruto answered. "Hinata overheated and passed out. At least I think she overheated. Maybe she's sick. Her face was red."

"Well, then let's start today off with a quick lesson in first aid. If something like this happens, get the person onto the floor, put padding under her head, and elevate her feet over her head. You might want to remove any clothing that would restrict her breathing.

With the rest of the class watching, Kiba and Naruto followed Iruka's instructions, removing Hinata's jacket and using it to cushion her head. At this point, Kiba needed some tissues to stop his nose from bleeding when he got his first look underneath Hinata's jacket.

'_Heh heh. Hinata's ten, and she's already better developed than any of the other girls here. Score!_'

Naruto just rolled his eyes and kept going.

'_Man, I hope she's alright. If anything happens, I just know I'll be blamed._'

Soon, Hinata woke up, and saw Naruto bent over her, with the rest of the class behind him.

"Wh-what hap-ppened?"

"Uh, you passed out. You might want to keep the jacket off, or at least unzipped for a while."

Hinata looked down at herself, noticing her jacket was off, and was about to faint again, when Naruto said, "Hey, don't faint again! Kiba and I just got your jacket off!"

That proved to be the wrong thing to say, as that prompted her to faint again, with another full-face blush.

"Aw man."

"Sigh... Naruto, when she comes to, bring her down to the sparring field outside." With that, Iruka herded everyone else out the door.

Naruto bent over Hinata, making sure she was still breathing. However, he got too close, and Hinata latched onto him, hugging him to her. Naruto's thoughts were all over the place.

'_Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap! This is bad! Actually, this feels kinda nice... Hey, she smells like lavender._'

"Mmm... I love you Naruto-kun..."

Naruto went white at that.

'_Wh-what did she just say? Maybe she just likes naruto slices with ramen. Yeah, that's got to be it. There's no way she meant me, right?_'

"Hee hee hee... You always look so cute with those whisker marks. Just makes me want to..."

'_CRAP!!! How could she think she likes me? We don't even know each other! I'm going to die! And I don't want to die!!!_'

Naruto managed to wiggle out of Hinata's clutches right before she came to.

"Unnngh... N-Naruto-k-kun?"

"Eh, hey there Hinata-um,-chan. Iruka-sensei says we need to get down to the training field. Are...are you going to be alright?"

Hinata almost fainted again when she heard the -chan added to her name. What kept her from doing so was what Naruto said about Iruka's orders.

"O-okay, let's go then, Naruto-kun." Hinata failed to notice Naruto pale when she said his name.

"Yeah, let's go." With that, the two headed down to the training field in an awkward silence.

When they arrived, in addition to Iruka and their classmates, they saw the Hokage, several Jounin, and three ANBU.

When Iruka saw that they had arrived, he signaled for the Hokage to begin.

"Alright then. I'm sure you are all wondering what you are all here for. Some of you may recall that, when you first entered the academy, you were tested to see where you stood. You are now mid-way through the academy, and we wish to see where you are at now. This will not affect your grades in the academy. It is merely for us to know how the academy is doing in teaching you as an individual, to prepare you for life as a shinobi."

At this, many of the students, mostly Sasuke's fangirls, started worrying. They knew that this could be potentially embarrassing. For some reason, the academy placed a heavier emphasis on book work, and because of that fact, many had slacked off on physical training to gain more study time.

The elderly Hokage continued, "Now rest assured that we will not be doing all of these assessments at once. They will in two weeks, and will be spread out over two or three weeks, giving you ample time to prepare yourself. Now, are there any questions?"

Sakura raised her hand.

"Um, Hokage-sama, what are we being tested on?"

"Good question. You will all be tested on stealth, stamina, chakra control, weapons skills, jutsu, and several other categories."

"Is there a written test?" came a question from another student.

"No. This assessment covers the practical aspects of shinobi life. The academy gives you enough written tests, too many for my tastes. Personally, I find most written exams are poor indicators of how good a shinobi a person is."

At this, relief flooded Naruto's mind, while stress entered the minds of most of the other students.

'_A practical test! I stand a chance! Thank you, Kami!_'

"Now then, are there any other questions? No? Then let me explain the reason for the presence of all of these people behind me. They are here to help refine any skills you wish to work on before we begin the assessment. You will be spending all of this week working with them, as well as continuing your personal training on your own time. Each day you will work with a different instructor. This will also serve as an example of what you can specialize in as a shinobi. Will the instructors please introduce themselves?"

"YOSH! I am Maito Gai, taijutsu specialist. I am to help you improve your stamina. Embrace the Springti-ACK!" The odd man in green spandex suddenly clutched his throat.

"Sorry about that, Gai. I did that. I'm Yuuhi Kurenai, a genjutsu specialist, and I'll be working with my group on chakra control."

"Well, I guess I'm up next. The name's Sarutobi Asuma, and I'll be helping with projectile weapons."

"_Cough_...I'm Gekko _Hack_ Hayate. I'm _Hack_ a kenjutsu specialist, _Cough_ and will be working with _Hack_ close-range, armed combat. _Cough, Cough_"

"The name's Shiranui Genma, and my group will be covering tracking and stealth."

"I'm known as Inu, and my group will be covering ninjutsu. I'm not teaching any, but you will learn tips on how to learn jutsu faster."

Following the introductions, Sarutobi spoke once again.

"You should also know that Umino Iruka has agreed to give lessons on basic traps. Now then, I suggest that you split up and choose an instructor."

Naruto was torn. He couldn't decide which group to join for the day. The chakra control group was out until he got better at his clan's personal ones. Since he was able to evade Jounin and ANBU to a degree, he decided stamina could wait a bit. Inu's group would probably be the biggest, at least today, so Naruto decided against that in favor of more personal attention.

On the other hand, he knew he needed help with kunai and shuriken throwing, so Asuma's class was high on his list of priorities. The same went for tracking and stealth. He wasn't sure about what the kenjutsu teacher could do, but knew what he was teaching was important. Eventually, he decided to take Iruka-sensei's trap-making class.

When the other instructors saw Naruto head towards Iruka, they let out a small sigh of relief. They didn't hate him, but they were nervous about his habit of pulling pranks on his teachers. Since they didn't know about his training with Inu, Umino Iruka was the only teacher who Naruto seemed to listen to, and even he wasn't completely safe from Konoha's self-proclaimed Prank King. When they were asked to help with this, the Jounin all went to Iruka to ask for tips on how to handle Naruto.

His reply was simple.

"There's no real trick to it. Just pay attention to him and treat him with respect, and he won't do anything too terrible. In other words, treat him like the other students."

If his advice worked, it looked like this wouldn't be too bad.

-- -

Next time: A New Jutsu and a Big Surprise


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Rivers of Hades**

_Chapter 4_

The week had passed quickly. Aside from a little awkwardness when Hinata was around, there weren't many problems for Naruto. He still wasn't sure what to do about Hinata had said, so he decided that he wouldn't mention it to anyone, and spend more time around her to see how he felt. What he was sure of was that Hinata was nice to be around, if a little too shy.

Once the other instructors saw that Iruka's advice was good, they warmed up to Naruto. Apparently, either Inu or the Hokage had told Kurenai about the Uzumaki exercises. When she talked to Naruto about it, she commented about how even Jounin would have trouble with something like that, and asked how an academy student could even attempt it. Naruto responded that until he had enough control to do the water walking exercise, the point was to hold yourself in place without touching the ground, and then push yourself out of the water. That left Kurenai and the other instructors, who had listened in, wondering if they could benefit from the exercise any.

Naruto's private sessions with Inu-san had changed slightly. Instead of focusing only on the control exercises, the ANBU had also begun helping with the other aspects of being a ninja. Some of it, like a mini-lecture on the meanings of all the hand seals and their effect on a jutsu, went completely over his head, but Inu-san said he would understand it eventually. He was also given basic training in the use of weaponry beyond kunai and shuriken, although Inu-san had helped him with those as well.

After a discussion between Naruto, Inu-san, and the Hokage, Naruto was being given a chance to learn one of the two advanced bunshin techniques Inu had told him about. Initially, Sarutobi had been against it, asking why Naruto should learn an advanced technique before he could use the basic version. Inu replied that Naruto already had better control than most of the other students but still couldn't perform a basic Bunshin. After Naruto discovered he could now properly perform the leaf control exercise, Inu had him begin a new exercise, tree-climbing, in addition to continuing the whirlpool one. He was nowhere near done with it, but it still put him slightly ahead of his classmates.

After hearing that, Sarutobi thought about it for a second, wondering aloud what the problem could be, although Naruto was the only person in the room who was unaware of the _real_ reason. Finally, Sarutobi relented and asked whether Naruto should try **Mizu Bunshin** or **Tsuchi Bunshin**. It was a tough call. Mizu would work with his affinity, while Tsuchi would work well just about anywhere he went. Eventually, it was decided to try and teach him **Tsuchi Bunshin**, as his eventual teacher would probably know the more common **Mizu Bunshin**.

Now the three of them were in Naruto's usual training spot, so he could learn the jutsu in secret. Sarutobi, despite his faith in Naruto's potential, still felt that he needed the basic Bunshin before he could move on. He had to admit, though, this did stand a chance of working. He was well aware that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing endlessly, expecting different results. Regardless of how Naruto performed, he would still have a new jutsu to work on.

He was never so glad to be wrong. After maybe five or six minutes of Inu showing him the sequence of seals and Naruto duplicating them, Naruto was ready to try. With a cry of "**Tsuchi bunshin no ****jutsu**," his first attempt was underway. It was a remarkable attempt from an academy student.

A large amount of earth gathered near Naruto, and an arm extended from the mound, flailed around, and dissolved back into mud. With a little coaching, he was able to manifest the entire upper half of his body for a second try. Five tries later, he had the technique down.

"Well, I'll be. Congratulations, Naruto-kun. You proved me wrong. That is a proper **Tsuchi Bunshin**. Now, you just need to work on forming them faster and in greater numbers."

"Alright! A new technique, just in time for that assessment! That reminds me, how come last year's class didn't do this?"

"For several years, I have been arguing with the council over the academy standards and curriculum. I feel that the academy standards have relaxed too much lately. The focus on book work doesn't help, either. This year, for some reason, the council gave in, and agreed to an assessment of a class halfway through the academy. A set of standards was created for what should and should not be possible of those students. Should the majority of your class not meet those standards, the curriculum will be changed for the next year, in an attempt to fix the problems."

"I don't know, oji-san. I'm guessing they did it so the Uchiha could show off. As if his ego wasn't already the size of the Hokage monument."

"Perhaps he is a bit arrogant, but hasn't he earned that right?" Naruto could tell there was something important behind that question.

"How has he earned it? He's treated nice because he's the 'last Uchiha'. The teachers always try to help him, even though he won't accept it. Then, when I ask for help, they throw stuff at me and tell me to go away. The way I see it, the only thing he's really earned is his class ranking."

Sarutobi cracked a small grin at that.

"Once again, the Uzumaki mindset surfaces. A determination to earn what you have, rather than have it given to you. You might be right. Sasuke is treated very well, but he has earned very little of it. Some of it stems from the fact that he watched his family die in front of him at the hands of his brother, and is acceptable, to a point. Much more, however, may come because he is as a result of that, the 'last Uchiha'. One of Konoha's greatest weaknesses is the very issue we spoke of before I gave you the Uzumaki scroll."

"Then, when I become Hokage, I'm going to change it. I don't know how, but I'll do it."

"I wish you luck. The clans have grown used to their privileges. They will not give them up easily."

"Um, Naruto-kun, I have a question for you." Inu spoke up.

"What is it, Inu-san?"

"You are listed as the dead last at the academy, and are generally viewed as a smiling idiot. Right now, however, you aren't acting like either. What is going on?"

Naruto cracked a grin.

"That's easy. Isn't one the of the points of being a good ninja to be under-estimated by your target? And isn't another point not showing what you're really capable of?"

He got nods from both shinobi.

"Well, isn't the best way to do both to be seen as an idiot? The rookie of the year is expected to be the best out of his year. The dobe is supposed to be the worst, and is under-estimated. This makes it easier to surprise your opponent."

"So, just how much of your performance at the academy is this... act?"

"The academy? Not much. I honestly suck at paper tests."

"So parts of your personality are just an act. What about the orange?"

Naruto's smile dimmed a little.

"Sort of. It gets me attention, and I know it looks stupid. It's also my favorite color, and it's all any store in the village will sell me."

That got the attention of the two adults. The elder of the two spoke.

"I wish you had told me sooner, Naruto-kun. I could have told you where you could buy something else."

"I've been to every store. Most chase me out, calling me demon and threatening to kill me."

"Hmm... Well, I could have arranged to order you some clothing and other supplies from outside the village."

Naruto perked up at that.

"Really? Could you do that for me, then? Just what you think would work?"

"Certainly. Since part of your monthly stipend is meant to cover clothing and supplies, I'll just take the money from there."

"Thanks, oji-san. You're the greatest."

"I try."

--

The assessment had come, and was now almost over. Naruto had done well, better than just about everyone else. He guessed that most of the judges had wanted to fail him on everything, judging from their glares. Unfortunately for them, with the Hokage serving as another judge, they were forced to grade honestly. The last section was today, and it was the jutsu test. What they had to do was perform their best jutsu.

Some would only be able to perform one of the academy jutsu, but some would attempt one of their clan techniques. The Uchiha had just pulled off a Katon technique of some kind, and everyone started clapping, some louder than others. Next was Naruto, and finally Yamanaka Ino.

When Naruto's name was called, the audience began muttering. Naruto was planning on doing the **Tsuchi Bunshin**, as it was one of his most reliable techniques at the moment. His second best was **Futon: ****Daitoppa**, which he had found in his mother's jutsu library from the scroll. After that came the other two academy jutsu.

What got on his nerves most were the comments from his classmates.

"The dobe's gonna make a fool out of himself in front of the Hokage!"

"Naruto sucks, doesn't he Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn. Dobe."

Naruto's fists clenched as he tried to block the voices out and calm down. Unknown to anyone, one of the seals on Naruto's back began to glow. The kanji for ice.

Naruto was about to start yelling like a little kid, shouting at his classmates to shut up, when he felt a strange feeling come over him. A cold, almost frigid, sensation ran through his veins. Acting on instinct, he extended his arms and called out the technique's name.

"**Uzumaki Hijutsu: Yomi no Ookawa: Cocytus!**"

From his hands spouted streams of water. Whatever the water came into contact with was instantly covered in an inch of solid ice.

The entire audience was silent. Calmly, the Hokage stood, and made his way down to where Naruto stood, avoiding the spots of ice in his path. He walked over to an object that had been caught by the jutsu. It was a kunai, thrown by someone in the audience. Caught by the jutsu in mid-flight, it was now frozen to the ground. Examining it, he had one thought.

'_What idiot tries to kill someone in front of the Hokage, and with a kunai that has the owner's name engraved in it?_'

His attempts to free the kunai manually failed. Resorting to Katon jutsu, he noticed that the ice was rather stubborn, requiring more heat to melt it than normal ice would. To melt the patch of ice, he had to resort to **Katon: Karyuu Endan**, an act which seemed like overkill, both to him and to everyone watching. Breaking the kunai free, he hands it to an ANBU for further investigation. Turning to Naruto, Sarutobi speaks to him in a voice only the two could hear.

"Naruto-kun, first off, that was very impressive. Second, you really shouldn't be practicing those jutsu unsupervised."

"Oji-san, I haven't even tried to do one before. All I know is that I was trying to calm down for this, and this weird feeling came over me. Then, I just called out he name, and well, this happened."

"Hmm... I see. Well, I'll ask you not to try any of the other five for a while, at least not without my knowledge."

"Deal."

Sarutobi turned around to face the audience, who were currently either bracing for an attack or scared speechless.

"Is there a problem?"

Sheepishly, the audience sat down, and Sarutobi walked back to his seat.

'_Activating a jutsu like that through sheer will power. Impressive. And the River jutsu seem to require much higher-level jutsu to counter-act them. Good to know._'

Naruto turned around to return to the rest of the class, whose jaws were wide open. The exception was Sasuke-teme, whose teeth were grinding together hard enough to cause sparks.

"Dobe... Where did you learn that jutsu?"

"Didn't you hear me, teme? Uzumaki Hijutsu. It's a clan technique."

"You don't have any parents. How could you have any clan techniques?" piped up a random Sasuke fangirl.

"Obviously, I had some at some point. The Hokage just gave me my mother's clan scroll a couple weeks ago."

That slightly abated the looks. He sat down, and due to a sudden seating swap by his classmates, he found himself next to Hinata, who was imitating a turtle, trying to hide in her jacket.

"C-Congr-gratulations, N-Naruto-kun."

"Thanks, Hinata-chan."

'_You know, Hinata's really not so bad. That stuttering, though. I wonder if that stuttering is an actual speech problem, or if she's just really shy and nervous all the time. I just need to get to know her better._'

When everyone had calmed down, the Hokage cleared his throat and called out, "Will Yamanaka Ino please come down?"

Ino stood up, walked over to Shikamaru, and drug him down to the platform. She then performed her clan's **Shintenshin no jutsu**. It was nowhere near what it was supposed to be, but for a ten-year old, it was still rather impressive.

Sarutobi stood, thanking the students for their performance, and the audience for coming. The students were dismissed for the rest of the day.

-- -

AN: Next chapter is after a two year time-skip. It picks up after the graduation exam. Also, this is not going to be a Genius- or Super- Naruto fic. He's just going to be better than he is in canon.

Next time: Graduation

-- -

Jutsu List:

**Uzumaki Hijutsu: Yomi no Ookawa: Cocytus **-- Uzumaki Secret Technique: River of Hell: Cocytus


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: You should expect this by now, but I own none of this.

AN: Based on some of the reviews I've gotten, I've noticed that some people have misread part of this fic. Naruto does not have a Kekkai Genkai here. He has clan techniques instead, like the Yamanaka clan. I might have the River techniques escalate into a full-blown Kekkai Genkai later, due to the Kyuubi's influence. It's a good possibility, but I haven't decided yet. Like I said last chapter, I'm trying really hard not to make Naruto a genius or a god. I just want him to be better than he is in canon.

Just a heads-up. This chapter is about 75-80 percent flashback. I'm still working on mixing dialogue and narration. I can do one or the other, but not both just yet.

Also, I am making the assumption that everyone knows about Mizuki's 'make-up test', and the aftermath. As a result, I'm skipping most of it, with the exceptions of what happens that doesn't happen in canon.

Thank you. Now, on with the fic!

**Rivers of Hades**

_Chapter 5_

Naruto sat in a chair in the Hokage's office, in a stunned silence. He had just been through a life-changing night. Some of his questions about his life had been answered, but new ones had popped up to take their place.

The last two years had been relatively peaceful for him. After his performance at the assessment, the attacks on him had almost completely stopped. He still wasn't welcome in most places, but it was still an improvement. Since then, the most common physical assaults came from drunken villagers, who he could easily outrun.

The worst one had been during the Kyuubi festival after the assessment. A group of villagers and shinobi had gotten together, and broke into Naruto's apartment, intent on killing him. Naruto had been so terrified, he activated the second River technique, the **Uzumaki Hijutsu: Yomi no Ookawa: Phlegethon**, on sheer instinct. The resulting fire burned just about everything in his apartment. Naruto had survived relatively unharmed, but shaken up.

The Uzumaki scroll had also escaped, strangely undamaged. It had been hit directly by the jutsu, but showed absolutely no signs of it. The Sandaime guessed that somehow, the scroll was immune to the Uzumaki clan techniques, and possibly to most any damage, as a protection against the scroll being destroyed. He also guessed that somewhere within the scroll was either a jutsu or special seal that would destroy the scroll if needed. Beyond some clothes and supplies, not much else was recovered. The attackers also survived, but were badly burned. They were taken to the hospital for treatment, but were never heard from again.

Later, it was discovered that, with practice, Naruto could control what the jutsu burned. He could command the fire to burn only a specific target, leaving everything else untouched, or to burn everything but a chosen item or group of items. Sarutobi was aware of the possibilities for this. Naruto could set fire to a certain document in a group, burning it to ash, without harming the others, or create a fiery barrier, that only certain people could safely pass through. It was also confirmed that the River jutsu did require more effort to counter than their normal equivalent. The fire hadn't spread beyond Naruto's apartment, yet, in order to put the fire out, it required an amount of water that would have made more sense if the entire building had been on fire.

--

Following the investigation, Sarutobi found Naruto a better home. He was now under the care of Inu, or when he was off-duty, Kakashi. Sarutobi had gone through the Yondaime's instructions for Naruto, and found he had misread part of it. Naruto still couldn't be adopted by anyone, but there were three people Yondaime trusted to take Naruto in, if need be. Sarutobi himself was one, Kakashi the second, and Minato's sensei, Jiraiya, was the third. He apologized profusely to Naruto for what had happened. Naruto didn't care, he was just happy to have some idea of what family life was like, even if it was just with someone who had become an older brother figure to him.

Living with Kakashi, Naruto learned about the implanted Sharingan. This prompted the two of them to test out Kushina's theory on how to defeat it. Experimenting revealed that the Sharingan's ability to see chakra did take precedence over the ability to copy jutsu, at least with Kakashi's eye. With some minor adjustments to her original ideas, Naruto was able to prevent Kakashi from seeing what jutsu he was about to perform. Basically, Naruto had to channel extra chakra to his hands, but not use it in the jutsu. This would blind the Sharingan as to what was happening. However, Kakashi did warn Naruto that it was possible that a real Uchiha could somehow counteract this weak spot, as they would have better control over their Sharingan than he did.

Since the fire, Naruto's wardrobe had changed drastically. Most of his old orange jumpsuits had burned. Of course, he hadn't worn any of them in some time, but had kept them since no one else would want them. Sarutobi had done as he said and ordered several sets of shinobi clothing in Naruto's size. His new normal clothing made him look like a chuunin, but without the vest. Now, the only orange on him were two stripes on the inside of his sleeves, since he still wanted some orange in his clothing. Sarutobi and Kakashi also convinced him to buy some casual and formal clothes as well, for occasions were a combat uniform was inappropriate.

--

Naruto's experience at the academy had also improved slightly. His book grades were still awful, but were better than they had been. They had gone up first when Naruto moved in with Kakashi, and again when Iruka became Naruto's normal teacher.

He had spent more time around Hinata, and it showed. She still blushed and fainted when he was near, but now he normally had to make an effort to get her to do so. Of course, he still managed to make her blush and faint without meaning to. The stutter was still there, but had also lessened greatly. Naruto still wasn't sure how he felt about her, although she was pretty cute, and he enjoyed her gentle, shy, and quiet personality. Hinata still wasn't aware that she had 'confessed' to Naruto, but was loving the fact that her crush was actually paying attention to her. Sakura seemed blissfully unaware of the change in Naruto's attention, although everyone else in the class was wondering what had happened.

The kicker had come on the day of the genin graduation exam. With the exception of the written exam, Naruto had passed all the parts of the test. He had gotten a good laugh during the jutsu portion on the test. It had been the dreaded Bunshin, which he still couldn't do. However, he had managed to keep the fact that he knew an advanced Bunshin jutsu a secret the entire time, as a trump card. As he was headed down to take his turn, Sasuke-teme had started insulting him. In retaliation, Naruto created two **Tsuchi Bunshin** outside, which entered the academy and then entered the classroom, walked over to the Uchiha. One held him down, while the other gave him a wedgie. Both then dispelled themselves, pouring mud onto the Uchiha.

The reactions of his classmates were mixed. At first, there was stunned silence, then the noise level rose dramatically. With the exception of Hinata, every girl in the room wanted Naruto dead. However, the other boys, except for Sasuke-teme, had broken out into laughter. Shino was the other exception, though those sitting near him swore they had heard him chuckle. Kiba began bowing down to Naruto, laughing while chanting, 'I'm not worthy'.

Having heard the noise, both Iruka and Mizuki had come into the classroom, to see the Rookie of the Year covered in mud, glaring at Naruto. After they figured out what had happened, they asked where he had learned such a jutsu. Naruto simply replied that he had a private tutor. Iruka promptly passed Naruto on the jutsu portion, and gave Naruto his new hitai-ate. Mizuki sent Sasuke home to shower and change.

--

Afterwards, as Naruto was leaving, Mizuki had approached him, and asked to speak with him in private. When they were alone, Mizuki said that despite passing the practical exams, and earning the headband, Naruto's poor score on the written test meant that he would have to stay in the academy another year. Unless, he managed to pass a certain make-up test...

Something about the test rubbed Naruto the wrong way, and he decided to ignore Mizuki's warning about not telling anyone, and talk to Kakashi. After hearing Naruto's story, the two of them went to see the Hokage. Naruto then retold his story to both Sarutobi and Iruka, who had been summoned by Sarutobi to give some information on Naruto's exam results. Iruka stated that if Naruto's overall score had not been high enough to pass, he would never have been given a hitai-ate. That statement cemented Mizuki's status as a traitor.

A plan was then hatched to catch Mizuki in the act. Naruto would be given the Forbidden Scroll, with a hidden seal that would destroy the scroll if it was separated from Naruto by a distance of more than twenty feet. It had to be the original, in the unlikely event Mizuki knew what jutsu would be inside. Beyond that, everyone would act as they normally would, from the Hokage alerting all active shinobi to the scroll's 'theft', to Iruka trying to track Naruto down. The main difference would be that both Iruka and Kakashi would know exactly where to go, and the Sandaime would be watching from his crystal ball.

It had gone off flawlessly. Naruto arrived early, and acting as he had been told to, began to sit down and try to learn a jutsu from the scroll. He chose Kage Bunshin to learn tonight, and quickly took notes on some of the others listed, ignoring the jutsu listed as needing high chakra control or being part of some really complex jutsu.

Mizuki had shown up as planned, and things went to hell from there. Despite both Iruka and Kakashi being there, Mizuki managed to evade capture long enough to break the law concerning Naruto. After hearing that, Naruto was stunned. He knew why he was hated, the explanation for everything that had happened to him. Iruka and Kakashi, who had gotten hold of Mizuki, and the Sandaime, who was watching the entire time, were very nervous. This was a crucial moment for Naruto and the entire village. Depending of what happened next, Naruto could either rise above everything that had happened, or become the demon the villagers thought he was.

While Naruto's thoughts were running in circles, Mizuki got in a blow on Iruka, trying to break free. The cry of pain shook Naruto out of his personal problems. He saw what was going on, and his eyes flashed red for a second, before returning to their normal blue. Once Naruto roared "**Tajuu Kage Bunshin no jutsu**", Mizuki instantly lost, after he stopped to stare at the small army of clones that had been produced. Kakashi seized the opportunity, knocking the traitor out cold.

--

After turning in Mizuki to the ANBU at the Hokage Tower, the three ninja entered the Hokage's office for a debriefing they wouldn't soon forget. Surprisingly to the three older men, Naruto took the revelation about the Kyuubi in stride, or at least better than they thought he would. His only question on the subject had been to ask why he had been chosen. Choosing his words carefully, not wanting to reveal the other half of Naruto's lineage to both Naruto and Iruka, Sarutobi told him that the sealing needed a newborn, and Naruto was the only child born that day. If Naruto hadn't been used, the village would have been destroyed.

Faced with that reasoning, Naruto grudgingly accepted what had been done, for the moment. He knew that except for letting him vent, it would do no good to complain about what had already been done, and would only make him look and sound like a little child in front of three of the most important people in his life. After he returned the Scroll, the meeting became a more typical of a debriefing. It was decided that this would be ranked as an A-rank mission, and would be listed in all three of their files as a success, with an appropriate reward.

While an A-rank mission wasn't unusual for Kakashi/Inu, it would look very good for Iruka, who had spent the last few years teaching full-time at the academy, something which normally caused one's skills to atrophy. Naruto's reputation as a new shinobi could also benefit, given how rare it was for someone with so little combat experience to survive an A-rank mission, let alone make a significant contribution to its success.

--

Naruto felt a tap on the shoulder, breaking him from his thoughts. It was the Hokage, with Kakashi and a bandaged Iruka still sitting, looking worried.

"Naruto-kun, are you all right?"

"Y-Yeah. Sorry for worrying you guys. It's just, it's a lot to take in at once, you know?"

"I understand. Why don't you go go home and get some rest? I'm sure you could use it."

"Yeah, I guess so. But, oji-san, I have a question."

"What is it?"

"When I used **Kage Bunshin**, and the clones dispelled, I felt this weird rush in my head. It kind of hurt. What happened?"

"Ah. Well, you see, **Kage Bunshin** is a multi-purpose jutsu. Used in training, the clones can work on chakra control and reserves, weapon skills, and jutsu, and when they dispel, you gain all the progress they made. The catch is, physical attributes, like stamina, can't be increased using this method. The original needs to do that personally. In combat, the clones have the ability to mold chakra and use jutsu. They just don't have the full extent of your reserves or control. It is also a useful scouting jutsu, because anything they learn is absorbed by you when they dispel. Your 'weird rush' was you absorbing that information from all your clones."

"Oh." After a second, Naruto began to process the explanation, and began to arrive at a conclusion. (And we all know what it is.) "So why don't you use them to help with your paperwork?"

Sarutobi blinked. "The clones don't last very long, even if they aren't in a fight. It would work, but I would have to create a new one every few hours."

"Okay, but even if you only create one clone, and split your paperwork with it, you'd be done twice as fast, right?"

Sarutobi stood there for a few seconds. Then his eye began to twitch, and finally he put his head in his hands. "I don't believe this. I've known that jutsu for over forty years. I'm the 'Professor' of jutsu, and yet a twelve-year-old genin, who hasn't even been out of the academy a full day, sees a use for it I've overlooked. I'm too old for this shit."

Naruto sprouted a grin that was threatening to rip his face apart. "Hey oji-san, remember that promise you made me when you gave me my mom's clan scroll? I think I just held up my end of the deal."

That got a chuckle, followed by a full peal of laughter from the Hokage. "That you did, Naruto-kun. That you did."

Seeing the curious looks from Kakashi and Iruka, Sarutobi said, "Two years ago, I gave Naruto-kun his mother's clan scroll. During that, I told him, completely serious, that if he could find a way for me to defeat the seemingly invincible enemy known as paperwork, I would personally train him. Naruto-kun has held up his end of the deal, so I will hold up mine."

Iruka's jaw was on the floor, so Kakashi spoke for both of them.

"Hokage-sama! No offense, but how could you promise something like that?"

"Why not? If he found a way to do so, I would be free to train him. As it stands, I'll not only be able to do my job here and train Naruto, I can spend time with my family. I might even be able to sleep at night, for once."

Now Iruka spoke up.

"Okay, Hokage-sama, but with Naruto becoming your only student, that leaves us with an unbalanced number of students."

"Hmm... Good point. Who would be the next in line to become a genin?"

"A boy named Sai, Hokage-sama. He joined the class about two weeks ago, so his grades are rather low in comparison."

"Odd. I don't remember giving permission for someone to join your class. I wouldn't have done it anyway, so close to the graduation exam, not without a valid reason. Well, tell him he passed."

"Yes sir, Hokage-sama."

"Well then, I believe that about does it for now. If anything comes up, I'll let you know. Good night."

-- -

AN: Okay, for those of you wondering why Kakashi didn't make mincemeat out of Mizuki, here's my explanation. Kakashi and Iruka were supposed to bring back Mizuki alive if possible, killing him only as a last resort. That limits what Kakashi and Iruka can do, while Mizuki is fighting to kill. A good example is Sasuke and Naruto at the Valley of the End. The way I see it, which seems to be the general consensus, Sasuke was fighting to kill, while Naruto was fighting to capture, holding himself back in the process. True, Sasuke and Naruto are closer in overall ability than Kakashi and Mizuki, but my point was that if you aren't trying to kill the other person, and they're trying to kill you, you're at a disadvantage, normally.

Next time: New Training, and an Important Mission

-- -

Uzumaki Hijutsu: Yomi no Ookawa: Phlegethon -- Uzumaki Secret Technique: River of Hell: Phlegethon


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I am not now, nor have I ever been, in possession of the ownership rights to Naruto.

AN: I forgot to include this in the last chapter. The results of the assessment: Sarutobi was right. The standards had taken a nosedive.

**Rivers of Hades**

_Chapter 6_

Two months had passed since Naruto became Sarutobi's apprentice. Some of the Sandaime's rules had taken some time for Naruto to get used to, like calling him sensei instead of oji-san. Sarutobi himself was having trouble getting used to Naruto using a respectful form of address when speaking to him. Naruto's training was also rather unusual for any shinobi, as Sarutobi wanted Naruto to be well-rounded in as many aspects of shinobi life as possible before specializing.

In addition to the conventional ninja training, such as taijutsu and ninjutsu, Naruto had decided to learn to fight with various weapons as well. Along with kunai and shuriken, he was learning to use kama, various types of swords, and Sarutobi's weapon of choice, the staff. With Sarutobi's help, Naruto had also mastered the Uzumaki whirpool control exercise, walking against the current for over an hour.

His ninjutsu training was more in line with what would be expected from a normal training session. Naruto would be shown a jutsu, and would need to demonstrate a certain level of competence with it before being taught a new one. Also, instead of catering only to his affinities, Sarutobi had decided to teach the jutsu in a set cycle, so Naruto would learn jutsu from all five elements. However, his rotation was different in that for every Raiton and Katon jutsu Naruto learned, he learned two or three jutsu from the other elements.

Taijutsu training was perhaps the most difficult for Sarutobi to teach. Despite him being in excellent health, Sarutobi was simply getting too old to teach taijutsu, especially to someone as energetic as Naruto. One of the best ways to teach taijutsu was a process of explanation, demonstration, the student's attempt, and finally sparring. The first two Sarutobi could handle, and the third would be no problem, but if he were to engage in a spar with Naruto, he would be too sore to move afterwards. It seemed to be one of the few drawbacks to only having one student.

Maito Gai would have happily allowed him to join his team, and had made offers to that effect. Even though Gai would have gladly helped anyone who asked, Sarutobi and Naruto declined the offer, as it would seem that the Hokage was giving special treatment to his student, and neither of them wanted the situation to look like that.

Instead, an agreement was made, where Naruto would spar against Gai's student, Lee, every other day, with both senseis watching. Afterwards, Gai would critique their spar, and work with both genin on improving their form. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than nothing. After about three such sessions, Naruto and Lee had developed a friendly rivalry. Naruto would also join Gai's team on random missions, to give him experience dealing with a team mentality.

For Naruto, the most difficult training he would ever undertake had nothing to do with physical exertion. Sarutobi was training him in the duties of a Hokage, as well as the needed abilities, like managing a budget and how not to accidentally offend a visiting dignitary. That meant that most of the lessons and lectures he had tuned out in the academy had come back to haunt him. Thankfully, Sarutobi made a better teacher for those things than most of the teachers at the academy. Naruto soon caught up to where he should be, and added new lessons on top of it.

Because of the **Kage Bunshin** trick, paperwork was nowhere near the invincible enemy it had once been. With Naruto handling the 'rubber stamp' level paperwork, and Sarutobi creating two **Kage Bunshin** to split the remaining work with, the bulk of the day's labor was done within two or three hours, and whatever else entered the office over the course of the day was quickly dealt with as well.

With his desk now regularly free of debris, Sarutobi finally noticed the act of vandalism committed on it by the man who had been both his successor and predecessor. Both master and apprentice found the cartoon of a spiky-haired man giving the Nice Guy pose, with the caption "_Namikaze Minato was here_" hilarious.

The etiquette lessons were rather grueling. The only thing keeping Naruto there was that, by now, he was well aware of how important they were. He had lost count of the number of times his sensei had been able to deal with someone calmly, and then vent any frustrations when in private. He vividly remembered the first time he had ever seen it happen.

--

It was right after the genin teams had been assigned. Teams 8 and 10 had both passed their second exams easily. Team 7 had failed, as was usual with Kakashi as the possible sensei. The catch was, the council had ordered that Team 7's failure be ignored. It was no secret that the council was sucking up to their precious Uchiha, a fact which disgusted just about everyone who had passed their jounin sensei's test honestly. Sarutobi had argued against it, pointing out how unfair it was to the other teams, those that had failed _and_ who had passed. He got nowhere with that. Team 7's 'pass' was put to a vote, and was approved.

Then someone asked if the rumors that Sarutobi had taken a new student were true. Sarutobi confirmed them, along with identifying Naruto as the chosen pupil. Immediately, the members of the council who favored Sasuke were up in arms, arguing for the Sandaime to take Sasuke as his student instead. Sarutobi used a three-pronged argument to silence them. His first point was that he was under no obligation to take a student. He was doing this because he wanted to teach Naruto. Second, the council had no right to demand that a particular student be taken by a certain teacher. That was for the Hokage to decide. Finally, he pointed out that the council had just overturned Team 7's failure, binding Sasuke to Team 7.

Following that meeting, Sarutobi ushered Naruto into his office, locking the door and invoking a soundproof barrier jutsu. Then, he began to rant, showing a temper Naruto had only seen from the man when people had been caught trying to harm him. He prayed that he would never, ever give his new sensei a reason to get this mad at him.

--

Like everything else involving his ninja career so far, Naruto's missions were unorthodox as well. As the Hokage's apprentice, Naruto often found himself running Sarutobi's errands. Normally, that meant running messages and official documents all over the village, both tasks being chuunin-level, and counted as missions, varying between D- and C-Rank. He wasn't paid for them, as it was one of his duties as an apprentice. He often performed regular D-Rank missions too, to earn some pocket money. He had even managed to catch Tora the cat single-handedly, and was keeping how he did so a secret.

One of Naruto's all-time favorite 'missions' so far had been when Sarutobi had to deal with village business outside the office. The business was important, but someone had to be here to hand out missions. There weren't any dangerous ones on the docket, just some D-Ranks for the genin. He eventually decided to let Naruto handle the assigning. The teams would receive their missions from him, and would report to him when they were done.

"Well, Naruto-kun, do you think you can handle this?"

"I think so, sensei. Four D-Rank missions, with four genin teams coming in. Shouldn't be too hard."

"Yes, that's why I'm not having someone else handle this. Good luck." With that, Sarutobi walked out.

The four missions were garden-variety, one of them literally. A villager's garden needed weeding. The other three were house-painting, unloading and inspecting a shipment of new kunai for a local weapon shop, and catching Tora the cat.

About twenty minutes later, the teams showed up. Gai's team made it first, followed by Asuma and Team 10, then Team 8. Team 7 showed up last, not due to Kakashi, but because two of his genin had gotten in an argument on the way over. Sai had said something to Sakura, resulting in him needing to see a medic-nin. All the genin were wondering why Naruto was in the Hokage's chair.

Sakura stared at Naruto, then piped up.

"Naruto-baka, what's going on? Where's Hokage-sama?"

"Sensei had to leave on village business. I'll be handing out missions to all of you today."

Kiba spoke up.

"So, you're getting at taste of your dream job, huh? What's it like?"

"I like it. It comes with a comfy chair." This earned a laugh from those present who had a sense of humor. He then listed the four missions for the day.

Sasuke walked up and was about to grab one of the scrolls when Naruto said, "What do you think you're doing, Uchiha?"

"Taking a scroll, dobe, what does it look like?"

"You don't just take a mission, it's assigned to you. You should know that by now."

Sasuke was pissed. The dobe was calling _him_ an idiot? How dare he! He clenched his fist.

"Why I oughta..."

"Sasuke! Stop that!" Kakashi admonished. "He's right. Until Hokage-sama returns, Naruto outranks you, at least for this. You would never have done that if Sandaime-sama were here, would you?"

"He outranks me? He's a genin too!"

"Hokage-sama put him in charge of assigning us our missions. That puts him higher up in the chain of command. It also means that when the missions are done, we will report to Naruto as well."

That shut Sasuke up. Naruto knew he'd never get anything close to an apology out of him.

"Well, since that's settled, on with the missions. Usual system, first come, first served. Gai-sensei, which one do you want?"

With Tenten in the room, Gai knew better than to take anything but the mission inspecting new kunai. Team 10 left to go paint a house, and Team 8 headed towards the garden, leaving Team 7 looking for a cat.

Life was good for Naruto. He had become a shinobi, was being trained to become a Hokage with actual experience doing the job, and he got to spend time with one of the handful of people he considered family. How could it get any better?

He had no idea...

--

Due to both his living with Kakashi and being in the Sandaime's office every day, Naruto had a pretty good idea how his other classmates were doing. He saw the three genin teams every time they came to get a mission for the day.

He knew that Team 7 was still having issues. They had failed their initial test, gotten it overturned, and hadn't gotten any better since then. They had currently done double the required amount of missions needed to qualify for a C-Rank mission, but Kakashi kept taking D-Ranks to try and build teamwork. If it kept up, they wouldn't get a C-Rank until after the next Chuunin Exams.

Sasuke-teme was still a brooding, stuck-up jerk, but now he was an **angry**, brooding stuck-up jerk. He felt that he was being held back because the 'dobe' was being trained by the most powerful ninja in the village, and he wasn't. Sakura hadn't changed at all, in personality, training, anything. It was enough to make Naruto wonder what he had ever seen in her. Sai was... Sai. Something about him just seemed weird. That smile just creeped him out.

Team 10 was a bit better off, but not by much. They had the teamwork thing down, but their... unique (read non-existent) training style held them back. As a result, they probably weren't going to be in the running for most low C-Rank missions any time soon, either.

Team 8, however, seemed to be the best team of Naruto's class. They had the motivation Team 10 lacked, and the teamwork Team 7 needed. And today, Kurenai and the Hokage had judged them ready for their first C-Rank. They were in the office, waiting for a list of the available C-Ranks.

"Hmm... There are several options for a team with your abilities. Let's see..." Looking at the list, Sarutobi's gaze found its way over to see Naruto sitting there, watching what was going on.

'_Well, I did say I'd do this when he was ready, and he certainly is..._'

"Kurenai, before I give you the mission, I have a favor to ask. Naruto-kun needs some field experience. Since I can't leave the village, would it be alright if he joined your team for this?"

That threw both Kurenai and Naruto for a loop. Naruto was surprised because they hadn't even talked about a field mission for him yet. What was the old man planning?

"I have no problems with that, Hokage-sama. He is welcome to join us."

"Good. Here's your mission. There was once a shinobi clan in a small, coastal country. About eighteen years ago, the clan was decimated in some territory dispute. Their clan library is supposedly untouched, and as it happens, the last known member of that clan is currently a Konoha ninja. Your mission is to locate the library, and if it is still intact, retrieve everything you can, storing it in this scroll," Sarutobi handed Kurenai a heavy-duty storage scroll. "Are there any questions?"

"I have two, Hokage-sama. Where are we headed?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you. It's Uzu no Kuni."

"And the clan name?"

"The Uzumaki clan."

At that, the four members of Team 8 looked at Naruto, who was pale.

"S-Sensei, are you serious?"

"Of course I am. I told you I would send you when you were ready. Now, are there any more questions?"

"One more. How dangerous is this mission?"

"Well, Uzu no Kuni has rebuilt itself. While they no longer have a shinobi force, it is rather peaceful, according to the most recent reports. I doubt anyone else will be trying to locate the library as well, as it is protected in the same fashion most clan libraries are. Beyond that, I cannot be sure."

"Very well. We'll leave tomorrow morning," Turning to look at the four genin, Kurenai said, "Meet up at the main gate tomorrow at seven sharp, with all supplies. We may not see combat, but I want you to prepare for it anyway."

The four responded in unison, "Hai, Kurenai-sensei."

Shino spoke. "I have a question for Naruto. Were you aware of this?"

"Um, I've known about the Uzumaki clan and their library for a little over two years now. I didn't know that sensei was going to give out this mission yet, to myself or have another team come with me."

"I see. Am I correct in assuming the jutsu you performed at the assessment two years ago is a clan technique, not one you created?"

"Yeah. I've only got a small part of what the library supposedly has inside. My clan did a lot of stuff, so there should be a bunch of information on all kinds of topics, not just ninja or clan-only things."

Now Kiba joined the conversation. "So there's stuff there that could benefit the entire village? Cool."

"Alright you three, let's go. You can talk more tomorrow. Good day, Hokage-sama, Naruto."

With that, Kurenai ushered Team 8 out of the office. Sarutobi turned to Naruto.

"Naruto-kun, I'm giving you the rest of the day off to prepare for the mission."

"Alright sensei. So, what are you going to do while I'm gone?"

"I plan on helping Konohamaru with his training. He's been doing much better lately, and I know it's because of you."

That brought a smile to Naruto's face. Shortly after he officially started learning from Sarutobi, Konohamaru had stormed into Sarutobi's office, wooden ninja tool in hand, and proclaimed that he was going to kill the old man. Taking two steps, he fell flat on his face after getting his foot caught in his scarf. Picking himself up, he promptly blamed Naruto, who had been two feet away the entire time.

Naruto took a page from Sakura's book, and hit him on top of the head. Then Konohamaru's teacher, Ebisu, dashed in. After a rather annoying conversation, Naruto left to vent. Ebisu then took off to find his charge, who had followed Naruto out of the tower.

When Konohamaru caught up with Naruto and explained himself, Naruto felt compelled to do something. After setting Konohamaru straight about why he should want to be Hokage, Naruto decided to teach the kid to do something he probably wouldn't learn until he became a genin. Of course, with the new curriculum at the academy, he might learn it there. So Naruto showed him the tree-climbing exercise. For an eight-year-old, he did pretty well. He didn't have enough chakra to complete the exercise, but it was still enough to satisfy both of them. Ebisu, who had been watching from the trees, was so shocked, he fell out of the tree and was knocked out. While the two drug the Tokubetsu Jounin back into town, they declared themselves rivals.

Afterward, Konohamaru had done noticeably better with Ebisu. The two still met up when they were both free. Normally, they'd just sit in a training ground, talking and doing target practice. Naruto soon found himself acting as an older brother to Konohamaru. He loved it. The only problem he saw with his 'family' was that with the exception of Ayame over at Ichiraku, he had nothing but male role models in his life. But hey, that could change later.

"Alright, I'll see you when I get back then. Bye, and thanks for this, sensei."

"My pleasure."

-- -

AN: Well, there you have it. The beginning of the next story arc. The C-Rank for Naruto and Team 8 won't be quite as eventful as the Wave Country arc in canon, but it won't be boring or easy, either. Nothing is when Naruto is involved.

Next time: Uzu no Kuni


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. This.

**Rivers of Hades**

_Chapter 7_

The five shinobi had been on the road for about six hours. When they stopped for lunch, the three members of Team 8 took the opportunity to question their classmate about his clan. Naruto edited some of the information he gave; after all, a ninja had to have their secrets. He didn't mention the notes on the strengths and weaknesses of their clan's abilities, or further explain his own. Perhaps the biggest effect this conversation would have revolved around Shino.

Naruto finished explaining the Uzumaki view on over-reliance on clan techniques and Kekkai Genkai.

"While your argument is logical, it is not so easy for an Aburame to add to their arsenal of abilities. Our relationship with the Kikai requires that they constantly feed on our chakra when not in battle, limiting the extent to which we can improve."

"Fair enough, but what about taijutsu? Or kenjutsu? Maybe even some fuinjutsu? Most of those techniques don't require much chakra. You could try those."

"Hmm... That may work. I will think on it."

"That's all I ask."

--

Training on the road with Team 8 was a new experience. With the exception of Gai-sensei working with him and Lee at the same time, Naruto had never really trained with other genin. The teamwork exercises were well-constructed, but Kurenai-sensei really couldn't teach him much of her specialty. He had the needed imagination and good enough control to be half-decent at it. He just didn't have the necessary mentality for it, and often didn't pay attention to details. With few exceptions, the subtlety of genjutsu just wasn't for him. He did, however, learn different ways to recognize and dispel genjutsu.

Kurenai had also told Naruto more about his mother. While Kurenai hadn't known Kushina personally, she was well aware of Kushina's reputation. Naruto learned that his mother had been a great kunoichi, a role model for what a kunoichi should be, second only to Tsunade. Kurenai had just been in the academy for a little over a year when Kushina came to Konoha. When she found out that one of her role models was now in Konoha, Kurenai hoped that she would get a chance to train with her. It was probably the closest she ever came to being a fangirl. She considered it one of her biggest regrets that she never got the chance.

Uzu no Kuni was a good week to a week and a half from Konoha, two or three if you were to walk the entire way. The roads were well-maintained, with villages about a day's walk apart, so keeping well-supplied wasn't a problem. They decided that they wouldn't hang around in the towns any longer than they had to, even though there wasn't a set time limit on the length of the mission. They would also spend the nights camping. It was during this trip that Naruto came to a conclusion: Hinata should have been top kunoichi. Yeah, Sakura had top book grades. Good for her. She and Ino would never have put up with camping out.

They had been traveling for about three days, and made camp for the night. Naruto was currently on watch duty, and would be relieved soon by Hinata. He had no idea what was going to happen tonight.

"Um, Naruto-kun, I'm here to t-take over for you."

"Okay, see you tomorrow then, Hinata-chan."

'_Come on, Hinata, you can do this! Just tell him!_'

"Uh... Uh... Naruto-kun, there's something I want to tell you. I, I've b-been in l-l..."

"I know, Hinata-chan," Naruto interrupted.

"Y-you do? How could you know?" Hinata was ready to faint, but kept herself from doing so. She had to find out how he knew.

"You told me."

At Hinata's look, a combination of shell-shocked and questioning, Naruto continued.

"Remember the day we were told about the assessment? You had fainted the second time, and Iruka led the rest of the class out to the training field. I was making sure you were okay, when you reached out and grabbed me. Then, you hugged me to you and said you loved me."

"I-I'm so embarrassed," Hinata squeaked, her face now crimson.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Sure, I freaked out a little. I mean, someone I didn't know very well said they loved me, even if they didn't know they had told me. But, after I calmed down a little, I decided that if you thought you loved me, the least I could do was get to know you better."

"I-Is that why you started spending so much time around m-me?"

"Yep."

"A-and what did you decide?"

"I decided... I decided that I like you, Hinata. You're sweet, gentle, and just fun to be around. You are also probably the best kunoichi in our class, skill-wise. You could probably have beaten Ino for practical ability, and Sakura for grades, if you had a more assertive attitude, but that's okay. I don't know if I love you or not, though. But give me time, I might find out that I do love you."

"A-alright, Naruto-kun. Good night."

"Okay, night Hinata-chan."

'_I don't believe it. He's known how I felt for him all this time, and he wasn't scared off. Plus, he __decided that he wanted to know me better. I might actually win him over yet!_'

Now, Hinata was by no means competitive. If she had been, she would have left Ino and Sakura in the dust at the academy. Still, she couldn't help but gloat, at least to herself, that by just being herself, she was making progress towards making Naruto love her. He had acknowledged her for her abilities, and while he hadn't said he loved her, he did say that he might one day.

'_Sakura, Ino, you both thought I'd never stand a chance at getting Naruto to love me because I was too shy to talk to him. Now, I'm farther along than either of you are with Sasuke-san. In your faces!_'

With that thought, Hinata's face split into a grin that was normally found on Naruto's, and it stayed there throughout her shift.

--

After a week of traveling, the group of five had reached the border of Uzu no Kuni. Just across the border was a small village, built near a crossroads where trade caravans would normally stop for the night. They would be gathering information on the location of the Uzumaki library.

While none of them were able to find out about the library, they still found useful information. The Uzumaki clan were still highly respected in Uzu no Kuni. Anyone who badmouthed them soon found themselves in a world of trouble. It was a valuable lesson in information gathering, as directly asking about the Uzumaki clan was regarded suspiciously, especially if the asker was a shinobi. Apparently, ever since the clan had been destroyed, shinobi from all over had come, trying to find their library and take it for their own villages.

Even though there hadn't been any news of the clan, many still believed there was an Uzumaki out there, somewhere. If only they knew how right they were. Naruto decided that it would be best to keep his family name a secret as long as needed. If word spread around that someone was trying to claim the Uzumaki name, it would only complicate the mission, since these people would probably want proof, and Naruto wasn't sure what would count as proof. To anyone who had personally known an Uzumaki, the seals on his back might work, but odds were that most wouldn't know their importance, and only notice that most Uzumaki had a matching set.

The most important information they found out was that the village near their clan home still existed, with many of the original families, who had lived there for generations. They had just found a lead.

With their new destination, Team 8 plus Naruto set out, heading further into Uzu no Kuni, towards the coast.

--

The next day, they reached the village, and looked around. The village had rebuilt itself, and the old damage was there, if one knew what to look for. When the villager saw their hitai-ate, they almost started to tell the group to go away. When they saw the Konoha leaf emblem, they paused. Evidently, the entire village knew about the deal that had brought Kushina to Konoha, and were willing to give them a chance to explain themselves. Word of mouth spread, and soon the village leader came to meet the group.

"Konoha shinobi, welcome. Might I ask what brings you here?"

Kurenai spoke up. "Greetings. The five of us were sent here by the Hokage, on a mission regarding the ..."

"The Uzumaki clan library, I presume," At Kurenai's surprised nod, the man continued. "Yes, well. The other four major villages that clan members were sent to have also come at some point in time, with the same intent. They failed to find it. We are also aware that Kushina has been dead for twelve years now. Unless you can give a reason as to why we should allow you to stay, we must ask you to leave."

"I believe I have such a reason. You know she died, but do you know how she died?"

"As we understand it, one of the Nine Bijuu attacked, and she died as a result."

"That is only part of it. She did die when the Kyuubi attacked, but she died because she went into premature labor, due to the stress caused by the attack."

At that, the villagers gasped collectively.

"Wait, premature labor? She was pregnant? Then, the child..."

"Yes. She died, but her child, her son, lived, and lives in Konoha to this day. We have come to retrieve the library for him."

There was dead silence, the villagers shocked.

"That... that would be a very good reason, but it means nothing unless you can prove it."

"I can do that. Naruto, if you would?"

Naruto stepped forward. He couldn't remember the last time he was this nervous.

"Hi, I'm... I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the son of Uzumaki Kushina."

The crowd surrounding them gasped again. Some of them collapsed, their legs unable to support them. This boy couldn't possibly be Kushina's son, could he? One of the older villagers stepped forward.

"I lived most of my life working closely with the Uzumaki clan. If you really are Kushina's son and an Uzumaki, you would have special marks. Do you have them?"

"Do you mean these?" Naruto removed his shirt and turned so that his back was to the woman. She then bent over, to inspect the seals on his back.

"Hmmm... Well now, you are an Uzumaki, I'm glad to say."

The crowd just stared, the older people there with tears in their eyes. The Uzumaki clan wasn't dead after all! It lived! The leader spoke up once more.

"Well then, in light of this terrific news, feel free to stay as long as you need! I'll arrange for the five of you to stay at the Uzumaki clan house while you complete your mission."

"Thank you. It would be an honor."

"Alright. This way, please."

--

Naruto couldn't sleep. He was too depressed. They had been in the village less than a day, and he already felt more at home than he had in Konoha, until he had moved in with Kakashi.

When they arrived at the Uzumaki clan house, they had split up to look for information about the library and its location. Naruto was looking through a bookcase when he found a family photo album. Opening it to a random page, he found himself looking at pictures of his mother. There had been a couple photos in his scroll, but those had been portrait-style shots. These were family photos. One was taken after she made genin, with her family around her. A second showed her getting a chuunin vest. Still another showed her after her promotion to jounin. Naruto turned back to the beginning of the album and started looking.

He eventually had to force himself to put the album back. It was too painful. The pictures had shown that the Uzumaki were very close-knit. He would have been happy here; his mom's family seemed like great people, and yet he'd never get to meet any of them. One thing he did notice was that many of the photos had an island in the background. It had a building on it, surrounded by high cliffs. The only access point was guarded by a giant whirlpool. One that was much, much larger than could possibly occur naturally.

There had been a huge town feast, in celebration of the return of an Uzumaki. It seemed like he was being treated like Sasuke-teme was treated in Konoha. He liked the positive attention, but he didn't think he deserved it. One of the villagers saw his discomfort and walked over to him. He reminded Naruto that everyone here knew how the Uzumaki clan felt about things like this, and then explained why they were doing this.

The Uzumaki clan had a very close relationship with the villagers, and with all of Uzu no Kuni. They had been friends to just about everyone. The feast wasn't about him, it was the villager's way of celebrating the clan as a whole and giving thanks that the Uzumaki backup plan had worked. It was a wake of sorts, honoring a group of people that were loved within the country. After that revelation, Naruto was able to enjoy himself a little more.

Laying down, staring at the ceiling, Naruto wondered what to do. This place, something he had never known, had suddenly become a second home to him. He didn't want to give it up, not without a fight, but he had a responsibility to Konoha.

'_Man, what am I going to do? This sucks. I feel at home here, but if I want to be Hokage, I can't live here. I just got a normal home, and now I've got a second one._'

Naruto's eyes widened, and then he slapped himself on the forehead.

'_A second home! I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner! Even shinobi take vacations. I can come __here on vacations! Gee, if I ever have a family, we could come down here too. Maybe my kids or grandkids would move here permanently._'

Naruto had never really considered having a family of his own, at least, not this seriously. The last time he had really considered it had been when he had been given his mother's scroll. Of course, he had blacked out, but he had been younger, and talking about him marrying and having kids was a little too much for him then. Deciding to clear his head, he got out of bed and walked over to the door that would lead to the balcony that surrounded the second floor. He expected to be alone, but instead, he found Hinata, doing what he was planning on doing himself, sitting there, watching the stars.

"Hey Hinata-chan. Why are you out here?"

"N-Naruto-kun, hello. I needed to think and this seemed to be a good place for it."

"Ah. I see. Mind if I join you?"

"Certainly." With that, Naruto plopped down next to her.

"Thanks. So, what did you need to think about? Or is it a private thing?"

"No, it's all right. I'm just... overwhelmed."

"Tell me about it. That's why I'm out here."

"What do you mean?"

"We've been here less than a day, and yet I already feel as though this place is my home. It's a nice feeling, one I never really had in Konoha, not until sensei found me a guardian."

"So what's the problem?"

"I'm treated the way Sasuke is back in Konoha, and I don't like it. I've done nothing for these people, but they treat me like I'm a hero, like the teme is back home."

"I don't think so. The Uchiha clan was treated like that in Konoha because of the Sharingan. No one has a feast like that for them because although they were respected and feared, they weren't liked. They were considered rather cold in their dealings with people, viewing just about everyone else as being beneath them, much like my clan, un-unfortunately. They demanded the respect. Your clan, however, were apparently very friendly and dependable people. They earned the respect they got, and while you're being given that respect, it is only until you show that you aren't worthy of it. I would prefer it if my clan w-would do the same, sometimes."

"Huh... Thanks, Hinata. I feel a little bit better about this now. So, why are you feeling overwhelmed?"

"It's the first time I haven't been given special treatment because of w-who I am or what clan I'm from. Inside the village, I'm Hyuuga Hinata, clan heiress. To my clan, I'm a di-disappointment. Out here, I'm just a Konoha kunoichi, a-and my reputation is what I wish to make of it. It's a liberating experience, but a little much to take in a-at once."

"Yeah, that's true. Well, I think we better call it a night. Don't want Kurenai-sensei to get mad at us because we keep falling asleep during the day."

"All right, N-Naruto-kun."

Deciding to do something different, Naruto reached over and pulled Hinata into a hug. As soon as he did that, Naruto knew it was the right thing to do. Hinata was so warm. If someone had asked Naruto to list the best decisions he had ever made up to this point in his life, this would have been at the top, no doubt about it.

Hinata was unsure of what was going on. Her now not-so-secret crush had pulled her into a hug with no warning. It felt great, but her face was still red enough that she thought she was going to start glowing soon. She was both relieved and unhappy that the hug ended so soon. Relieved because she probably wouldn't be fainting in front of Naruto, and unhappy because she didn't want the hug to end.

"Well, good night, Hinata-cha-MMPH!"

In a rare occurrence for Hinata, she acted on her impulses, and grabbed Naruto by his collar, pulling him in for a kiss. Naruto was frozen, barely aware of the fact that his hands were moving on their own, currently making their way to Hinata's hips.

'_What in Kami's name is going on? Why is Hinata kissing me? And... hey, she tastes like strawberries! This is kinda nice._'

A few seconds later, they broke up for air. Hinata immediately realized what she had just done, squeaked, and ran off. Naruto was still stunned, so he turned around silently, and headed back to his room. In his current state, though, he forgot to open the door first, and walked into it, shaking him out of his trance. Opening the door, he muttered just loud enough to be heard by Hinata, who was hidden nearby, "Man, now I'm definitely not going to get to sleep."

Had there been an inner Hinata, she would have been doing a victory dance just now, ranting about how Naruto was almost theirs. For the second time since they had left, a Naruto grin found its way onto Hinata's face.

'_And in the race for love, Hyuuga pulls out even further ahead of Haruno and Yamanaka. I've almost won, so now I just need to be careful about what I do next._'

-- -

AN: Hmm... Some NarutoHinata for all of you. Hinata was OoC because she's had two years of Naruto paying attention to her. Parts of his personality have rubbed off on her. She still stutters, though, but not much. Here, she only stutters badly when she's uncomfortable or scared, feelings she wouldn't normally associate with being around Naruto. Nervous, yes, but not scared.

And if you think the villager's feast was kinda contrary to what the Uzumaki would have wanted, even after the in-story explanation, you aren't alone. I had serious trouble writing that part. I wanted Naruto to be treated nice and to feel at home right off the bat, but I couldn't think of a way to do it without turning him into the Sasuke of Uzu no Kuni.

You know, I never realized that writing backstory for this would be so tough. I have to force myself to remember that most of the adult Konoha shinobi were academy students when Kushina came there. If you go by their age in canon, Asuma, Kurenai, Gai, etc., were about fourteen or fifteen when Naruto was born. Knock off the five years before that for when Kushina was first sent to Konoha, and they were nine or ten, and in the academy. Kakashi was an early grad in canon, so I'm not counting him.

Next time: The Library, and A Big Surprise


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Insert standard 'I do not own this' warning.

**Rivers of Hades**

_Chapter 8_

The next morning was unusual for the five shinobi, two of them especially. Naruto looked like he hadn't slept at all, which was true. Hinata was acting shyer than she had in a long time, back to before Naruto had started paying attention to her. She was also having trouble looking in the general direction of Naruto without squeaking and turning away. The other three were confused about his, but neither Naruto or Hinata were talking.

Turning to the purpose of their mission, they began discussing any possible clues as to the library's location that had been found the day before. No one had any ideas. Kurenai then proceeded to give them a lesson on gathering information from objects instead of people. She told them that in dealing with important secrets, like clan libraries, most people would never outright name the location, but would leave clues to its location, intentionally or not. She then asked if in any of their searches, they came across multiple references to a specific location.

Hinata, Kiba, and Shino came up with nothing, but Naruto sat and thought for a second. He was rather ashamed of himself. The others had been working towards the goal of the mission, while he had been looking through photo albums. Just because it was his family they were dealing with, he let himself forget his mission, just to sit and look at photos.

'_Wait a minute! Photos! That island in the background!_'

He proceeded to inform them about the island. As they had nothing else to work with, they would investigate the island. If nothing turned up, they would return and search again. Naruto knew that he had gotten _very_ lucky with the pictures, and promised himself that he wouldn't let it happen again. He wanted to be a professional, and had to start acting like it. He could do what he wanted within reason when off-duty, but on a mission, he expected better from himself.

--

After breakfast, they began asking around as to the location of that island. Since the villagers were more than willing to help, they didn't have to hide their purpose, and were soon able to narrow down the location to an area that could easily be searched in a few hours. Despite the unusual properties of the island and whirlpool, the biggest clue was a dock in the background of the pictures. Only two or three islands were close enough to the mainland to be able to capture both the island and the mainland dock in the same photo.

The first two islands hadn't matched the photo, even accounting for the passage of time. Naruto was hoping that the third would be the right island. True, he wouldn't mind spending more time here, but he wanted to accomplish the mission before enjoying himself. Business before pleasure and all that.

"Please, oh please, let this be the right place," Naruto begged to whatever higher power was listening.

Suddenly, the island was in front of them. Hardly anything had changed between when the pictures were taken and now. The wooden planks of the dock were rotten, and the island was a little overgrown by the plant life, but that was to be expected, after nearly two decades without upkeep. Close by, they found a sealed cave. Opening it, they found it had been converted into a storage space, with rowboats and related equipment, all in good condition.

Looking over the boats, they picked one out that could safely carry all five, plus Akamaru, with a minimum of discomfort. Working together, the five shinobi loaded the boat with their supplies and hauled it to the water's edge.

Shino chose that moment to ask a question that had been on his mind since he had seen the island in the photo.

"How are we supposed to cross the whirlpool in front of the landing site? It is too large and powerful for us to navigate around safely, and there is no other way for us to access the island."

"Uh, Shino, I can take care of that," Naruto replied, scratching the back of his head. Kiba looked at Naruto questioningly.

"How can you do that? We don't know anything about this island other than your clan took a lot of pictures here."

"My clan developed a bunch of special chakra control exercises. One of them is moving on top of a whirlpool without getting sucked under."

"Wait, what? Is that even possible?"

Shino spoke again. "Interesting. Using a chakra control exercise as a barrier on a clan library. I don't believe anyone else has even thought of such a thing, assuming the library is on the island."

Kurenai cleared her throat to gain their attention. "Well, there's one way to find out. Let's go!"

--

"Hey! Why'd we get stuck rowing?" Kiba was ticked. He and Shino had been told to row the boat, and his arms now felt like they were on fire.

Kurenai replied, "We needed two people to row so that everyone could fit in the boat, otherwise I could have done it. We need Naruto to channel the chakra to get us past the whirlpool, so he can't row. Hinata could have rowed, but it works best if both people have close to the same upper body strength. Now suck it up, we're almost there."

As soon as she finished, the boat reached the outer edge of the whirlpool. Naruto immediately began channeling chakra into the boat. He knew he could do it properly with just himself, but this was something he had never tried, and he was nervous, making it harder. The boat tilted to one side, almost enough to capsize, but it went no further. Kurenai, Hinata, and Akamaru were holding down the supplies they had brought, while trying not to fall out. Kiba and Shino went into overdrive, paddling as best they could to get them out. All of a sudden, they were on the other side of the whirlpool, heading towards the island dock.

When they landed, they decided to pull the boat out of the water, rather than trust the dock, which was as rotten as its counterpart. Naruto was exhausted after channeling enough chakra to cover the boat. He almost didn't hear the compliments directed his way.

"That was really good, Naruto."

"Way to go, N-Naruto-kun."

"Most impressive."

"That was so cool! If it hadn't been for the boat tilting, you wouldn't have known that we were in a whirlpool. It felt like we were rowing through calm water!" Kiba's statement was accented by Akamaru barking his approval.

"Thanks, everyone. I just want some time to recover before I need to do it again."

"You should have enough time. If you're ready, let's check out this island."

Shino pushed his sunglasses up. "One question, Kurenai-sensei. The whirlpool, how can it exist? The currents here could not form and sustain a whirlpool at all, let alone one of that size. Logically, it should not exist, as it defies all known natural laws."

"Uh, Shino, I think I know. I told all of you that what we did to cross it was a chakra control exercise specially developed for my clan, right? Well, in order for me to learn it, I needed access to a stable whirlpool of a certain size and power, and those don't occur in Konoha. There is a jutsu that creates a whirlpool much like that one, which is how you perform it inland. I just don't know what could be powering it, though."

"Perhaps we will find the answer at our destination. Let's go."

--

They had been walking for an hour and a half, just looking over the island while making their way in. Despite the overgrowth, to anyone who knew what to look for, it was evident that there had been trimmed paths here at one point, meaning this island had meant something to someone. After all, why build a dock and clear paths if no one could get out here? And it seemed that with that whirlpool in the way, only an Uzumaki could get out here.

They reached the location where the building was in the picture, and there it was. It turned out that it wasn't actually a building; it was a part of the surrounding rock that was extended out, like an exposed tunnel mouth. Someone had colored it with some substance, making it look like it was built there, but it was probably made with a Doton jutsu. After opening the 'door', they found that the interior was lined with masonry, leading underground.

As they went deeper, using flashlights they had packed, they found the source of the whirlpool. It was the chakra control whirlpool jutsu, and was powered by several chakra seals. If they weren't renewed, the jutsu responsible for the whirlpool would run out in about fifteen years. At first, this confirmed to the genin that this was the library, but Kurenai cautioned them that everything could just be an elaborate trap.

Finally, they found themselves in front of a metal door. There were no keyholes, no hinges, no visible way to open it without risking collapsing everything down on top of them. Hinata activated her Byakugan, looking for something that would open the door.

"A-Ano, there's a room on the other side of the door. A big one. I-I can't see what's in the room though."

"Is there anything that could open the door?"

"Um... W-Wait! I see some seals above the door. There are words in them. L-let's see... 'Ice,' 'Fire,' 'Sorrow,' 'Hatred,' 'Forgetfulness,' and 'Memory.' What do they mean?"

"Weird. Hey Naruto, any ideas?"

"Yeah. I know what they are. They're markers for some of our clan techniques. I don't know what they could be for, though."

Kurenai answered, "Often, clan libraries will include a special protection seal that requires the performance of a clan technique to open. Why don't you try one?"

"Alright. Everyone stand back. **Uzumaki Hijutsu: Yomi no Ookawa: Phlegethon**!"

The fiery stream shot out from Naruto's hands. However, instead of hitting the ground and burning, the flaming water went up above their heads, twisting into the character for 'Fire'. Immediately, the door began to slide out of the way.

Kiba took the opportunity to crack a joke. "Hey, that sure gives a new meaning to 'firewater'. But seriously, does that count as a Suiton or Katon jutsu?"

"It's really a Suiton, but it could pass for Katon."

"Oh. Hey, why didn't you use any hand seals for it? Now that I think about it, you didn't use any back at the assessment either, when you did the ice one. What's up with that?"

"On my back, between my shoulder blades, are special seals, probably the same ones Hinata-chan saw above the door. They are proof that I am a member of the Uzumaki clan, and allow me to perform some of my clan techniques without hand seals."

"So that's why you took your shirt off for that old woman. So there are four other jutsu, for the other four seals?"

"Yeah."

Kurenai interrupted the conversation. "Enough. Let's see what is in the room."

They entered the room, looking out for any possible trap. What they found was a huge room, with some light filtering in from a camouflaged skylight. There was enough light to see where things were, but not to see anything in great detail. Hinata located a light switch, and turned it on. Still more chakra seals kicked in, powering light fixtures, and the room lit up, revealing bookcases loaded with scrolls. Kiba's jaw dropped.

"Holy crap! This is as big as the general library back in Konoha!"

"Yeah, tell me about it. Hey, there's a sign over there!"

Naruto walked over to a sign that was posted to the wall. He read aloud, "The original documents here cannot leave this library except in the case of the imminent destruction of the library. If you must remove a scroll, please take one of the copy scrolls in the bookcase in the corner."

Looking into the corner, everyone present sweatdropped, including Shino. In the corner were two bookcases, loaded with heavy duty storage scrolls, similar to the one they had been given before they left. Opening one up, Hinata exclaimed, "I-It has a complete copy of every scroll here! Already sealed in!"

Kurenai raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding. The Uzumaki clan completed one of our mission objectives for us?"

Kiba joined in, "Damn, they're good. So, do we pack up and head for home, or spend some time looking through this stuff?"

Naruto spoke up. "I'd like to stay here a little bit. I still haven't completely recovered from crossing the whirlpool. I'd like to be at my best when we make the return trip."

"You're the only one who can get us back across, so I guess we're staying a bit."

Naruto walked up to the bookcase, grabbing a second scroll. Hinata blinked, then asked, "Um, N-Naruto-kun, why did you get a second scroll? We already have one."

"I know, but the way I see it, this way, I'll have one copy, and the other will go into the Archives in the Hokage Tower. I might like Uzu no Kuni, but I would rather not make unnecessary trips here if I can avoid it. Plus, maybe sensei and I can go through the contents, and see if any of it could benefit the village. Depending on what we decide, copies can be made for the general library in Konoha."

They accepted the explanation, and with that, the group split up. Shino walked around, looking at the various subjects contained in the scrolls. In a section on plant and animal life, he found a scroll on insects of the Elemental Countries, and pulled it out and began reading. Hinata had found the section dealing with medicines and healing techniques. She couldn't resist, and started looking through it, looking for ways to improve her salves.

Kurenai, true to her specialty, worked her way over to the genjutsu section first. She was impressed with the selection, but was even more taken aback by the inclusion of several genjutsu that had long been thought lost. One of Naruto's ancestors had managed to either locate a scroll for the original technique, or recreate it well enough that only a true master would be able to tell the difference. She quickly asked Naruto if they had been included in the copy scrolls. He responded positively, and her squeal of joy echoed throughout the library, causing the four genin to look at her disbelievingly. She blushed, and excused herself for a moment.

Naruto's first destination had been the ninjutsu section. Like Kurenai, he found several jutsu that were considered mythical. He knew the Sandaime would be foaming at the mouth when he saw them, the mental picture bringing a smile to his face. That quickly changed when he started looking at the Kinjutsu section, and saw something that made him want to sit in a corner and cry.

One of his relatives, his grandfather no less, had beaten Naruto to inventing the **Oiroke no jutsu**. The hand seals, the description, even the name! He knew it had been his grandfather because he had seen the name in the photo album, and the same name was listed on the scroll as being the author. Reading through the scroll, Naruto found that his grandfather had created the jutsu at age eight and for one of the same reasons Naruto had created it. The reactions it got were funny as hell. Shortly after its creation, it had been labeled a Kinjutsu, much like the Sandaime had done when he had first fallen victim to it.

Naruto had created the jutsu at around the same age, but had forgotten about it after he got his mom's scroll. He had used it frequently before then, but now he couldn't remember the last time he had used it. By this point, he knew that it was juvenile and not very useful outside of getting some laughs at the expense of his targets, its main use being identifying perverts. Still, it was his first, and currently, his only, original jutsu, and a source of pride for him. Now it wasn't even that.

'_Almost makes me wonder what I'll find in Dad's library when I finally get access to it. If he has a similar jutsu in there, I think I really will cry._'

Now, he and Kiba were looking around, slack-jawed at the varied topics.

"Botany, kenjutsu, agriculture, architecture, metallurgy, sculpting... Was there anything your clan _didn't_ do?"

"Sit around and be lazy, it seems. Wait, I stand corrected. Here's one called A Guide to Cloud Watching. Shikamaru will be thrilled."

Snorting, Kiba noticed a door in the back. "Hey, what do you think is behind this?"

Everyone gathered around it. No one detected traps, so Naruto opened it. It was about the same size as the main room, but it didn't contain more scrolls. One side of the room was a standard armory, with weapons, armor, and assorted equipment, outdated but still functional. The other side was storage. Furniture, jewelry, anything of value, was neatly covered and stacked. In the rear of this room was a solid steel door. Kurenai guessed it led to the clan treasury.

"Well, Naruto, it turns out we don't need this storage scroll from the Hokage, thanks to your clan's foresight. Anything you want to take with us?"

"Just one thing, Kurenai-sensei, but I won't need a storage scroll."

Walking over to the section of the armory dealing with armor, Naruto grabbed a hitai-ate, covered in dust. Wiping it off, he showed it to the group. It was a standard hitai-ate, but the symbol was the Uzumaki crest.

"The cloth's no good, but I can replace that later. Let's go."

--

Two days later, the group packed up and began making their way home. The villagers didn't want Naruto to go, but he promised that he'd be back. The assembled people nearly broke out in tears when they saw that Naruto had fixed the Uzumaki hitai-ate plate next to his Kohoha one.

That evening, they were setting up camp for the night in a grove of trees, when a rabbit ran through the campsite. Hinata caught it, and brought it in front of the group.

Kurenai eyed it, remarking, "This rabbit still has its full winter coat. He should have started losing it by now. This is someone's pet."

As soon as she said it, the rabbit bolted out of Hinata's arms. Kurenai then shouted, "Get down!"

The genin ducked, in time to avoid dying from their head being cut off. A over-sized sword flew through the air, embedding itself in a tree. A man appeared from nowhere and pulled the sword from the tree.

Kurenai identified him, "Momochi Zabuza, Demon of the Mist."

"The one and only."

-- -

AN: Sorry, I just couldn't resist bringing Zabuza and Haku into the story. By my estimation, in this timeline, Team 7 has at least another month or two before they go to Wave. As for what happens, you'll just have to wait and see.

One of the more recent reviews pointed out that I was rushing the storyline. They're right. I am, and I knew it all along. I'm not apologizing for it, though. This is my first fic on any site, and my first real attempt at writing something besides essays since I was in elementary school. That sort of stuff is going to happen. All I can say is that I'm trying to work on it.

I used chakra storage seals as power sources for the library and its defenses because the way I see it, since the library was built in an isolated location, its power supply would need to be long-lasting and low maintenance. Every other power source I could think of would have run out or broken down after nearly two decades of neglect. I eventually hit on the idea that if you can store physical objects in seals, and they keep indefinitely, why couldn't storing chakra in seals be used to power something over long periods of time?

Next time: Decisions and Consequences


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: You should know this by now. I don't own this.

AN: Thank you to everyone who left a review saying they liked Zabuza and Haku still playing a part. I wasn't sure how that would go over.

Just a reminder about the timeline, as at least one person left a review saying they were confused. The mission to Wave arc is still a month or two away at this point. Zabuza hasn't been approached by Gato to kill Tazuna. Tazuna hasn't gone to Konoha yet.

Also, a reviewer by the username havock sent me a message, telling me that Kiri had a grudge against the Uzumaki clan, because they had some of the best water and wind jutsu. I have no idea where this came from, or how legitimate it is, but I used it, and it made the chapter much better, in my opinion. All I had to do is add a little more background information to what I had already set down.

And as long as I'm giving out credit to the users whose ideas I've used, arkard gave the suggestion for Zabuza and Haku as undercover operatives. It's not the road they're going to take, but I listed it as an option for them. Personally, I thought it was a highly original idea.

Now, prepare for a lecture on Kiri from Zabuza!

**Rivers of Hades**

_Chapter 9_

"So tell me, what's a high profile missing-nin such as yourself doing attacking four genin and a jounin?"

"It's obvious, really. As a missing-nin, I can't exactly go into a town and resupply. So, I have to get food and equipment from somewhere. You lot just happened to cross my path."

Kiba growled out, "Too bad we aren't going down without a fight."

"Guess again. Haku, NOW!"

Suddenly, water began to surround their arms and legs, freezing and becoming ice. They were all pinned. A figure close to the genin's height jumped out of a tree, hands clasped in a seal.

Zabuza spoke. "Now then, you can either surrender everything you've got and live, or do something stupid and die."

Kurenai arched an eyebrow. "Interesting. Your mission history and bingo book profile show you as someone who wouldn't think twice about killing. Why give us a choice?"

"That's true. In true combat, I wouldn't hesitate to kill all of you. However, I have enough work cut out for me avoiding the Kiri hunter-nin. I don't want Konoha or any of the other villages actively pursuing me unless it's absolutely necessary. So I'm giving you the chance to live. Consider yourselves lucky."

Kiba and Akamaru were both struggling against the ice, trying to break free. "Fat chance. Soon as we break free, you're as good as dead!"

The masked figure, apparently the one named Haku, spoke softly. "I wish you wouldn't say such things. Neither of us have any desire to harm you. Once we have what we came for, we will leave, and my jutsu will end, freeing you. Please don't follow us. Return to Konoha."

"No way! You think you stand a chance against all of us? I don't care if we're stuck! We'll get out, and start kicking your asses!"

Haku sighed, and Zabuza growled out, "You really have a deathwish, don't you, punk? If circumstances were different, I might have enjoyed fighting you. Still, you should have kept your mouth shut, because now, I'm going to kill you all."

The sound of ice shattering surprised him. Naruto had managed to break free without anyone noticing. It also surprised Haku, whose hands came out of the seal in shock, freeing the group.

"Well now, that is impressive. No one's ever broken free from one of Haku's jutsu before. I might actually get a workout."

Zabuza began stretching and flexing the arm holding his sword, loosening it in preparation to attack.

"Haku, make sure no one tries to escape."

"Yes, Zabuza-sama." Haku jumped back into the trees and disappeared, ready to run defense for Zabuza and halt any attempt at escape.

"Well, I hope you've enjoyed your lives. They all end now!" Zabuza raised his zanbato, ready to charge the group. Then, his eyes fell on the Uzumaki crest on Naruto's hitai-ate. "What the... No, it can't be. Hey, blond brat, what's your name?"

Everyone else in the clearing face-faulted. Haku fell out of the tree, but managed to avoid serious harm.

'_What's going on? It isn't like Zabuza-sama to start attacking, then suddenly stop and ask a question._'

"It's Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto." Zabuza stared at Naruto, a penetrating gaze in his eyes.

"...Shit. You know what? Screw this. No way in hell I'm fighting you."

Confusion once again took over the clearing. The Demon of the Mist didn't want to fight a genin?

"Zabuza-sama, is something wrong? Why would his name change your mind?"

"I don't care how hard up I am for food and supplies. Nothing can make me willingly attack a member of the Uzumaki clan. I owe them too much."

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand, Zabuza-sama."

"I wouldn't expect you to know, Haku. I never told you. Didn't think I'd ever meet another one."

"You... you knew my clan?" Naruto wasn't sure how to take this. What could his clan possibly have in common with this missing-nin?

"Yeah. Well, one member of it. I'll explain. Any of you know why I'm called 'Demon of the Mist'?"

By this point, everyone had lowered their guard somewhat. Enough to show that they wouldn't attack, but not enough that they couldn't get it back up quickly.

Shino spoke. "You killed the entire graduating class at the Kirigakure Academy. A class you weren't a member of."

"Yes. Until I did that, the graduation exam there was very different than it is now. Before, each student would be paired up with another one in the same class. They would do everything together for four years. Then, for graduation, they would be forced to fight to the death. The victor made genin."

Kiba winced. "Wow. No offense, but why would anyone do that? That cripples how many ninja you can produce, and creates a lot of hatred within the village."

"Hey, what do you expect from a village that is called 'the Bloody Mist' and is proud of it? Any way, after my actions there, that was changed. The people in charge finally decided that it wasn't the best way to do things, though it had been tradition since the village's founding.

"Anyway, after I did that, I was up for a jounin-sensei. Not surprisingly, there weren't many takers. The academy wouldn't let me back, either. People were afraid of me, wanted me dead. Then, I was told that a sensei had been found for me, a man by the name of Uzumaki Kenji."

Everyone's eyebrows were in danger of getting caught in their hairline. One of Naruto's relatives had been the jounin-sensei for the Demon of the Mist?

"You heard me. Uzumaki Kenji. He was the best teacher I ever had. Wide range of abilities, though his specialties were kenjutsu and suiton jutsu. Taught me damn near everything I know about being a shinobi.

"One of the first questions I asked was why he was willing to teach me. He told me that Kiri had a serious grudge with his clan, something about them having some of the best Suiton and Futon jutsu ever to exist. The fact that despite that animosity, the village was still willing to allow him residence was nothing short of amazing. He then said that because of that grudge, he was regarded much like I was by the village, as a potential threat, and that he was going to make me the best ninja I could be.

"He certainly kept his promise. Made the village even more terrified of me. After all, one of the most dangerous shinobi in the village was being trained by a member of a clan Kiri was on shaky ground with. Of course, when I managed the promotions to chuunin and jounin, no one could say I wasn't ready for them, mentally or physically. The entire time I was a Kiri nin, the only people I could never consistently beat were Kenji-sensei, the other Swordsmen, and the Mizukage.

"Even after I made the Swordsmen, I still sparred regularly with Kenji-sensei. At first, I managed to beat him, but he had never faced someone using a zanbato before. After about three weeks of this, he went right back to kicking my ass. I asked him why he never tried for the Swordsmen, and he reminded me that he wouldn't qualify because he wasn't a Kiri shinobi."

Kurenai interrupted. "I see. So then why are you a missing-nin now? It's common knowledge that you tried to assassinate the Mizukage. What no one knows is why."

"It had to do with the Bloodline Massacre. Yeah, the Kaguya clan started the damn thing, but when it started targeting the other clans in the area with Kekkai Genkai, the Mizukage didn't do crap to stop it. He _encouraged_ the bloodshed, sometimes more overtly than others. After a while, the Mizukage started losing support. He was making the entire village look bad by letting the civil war continue unchecked. There was talk of him being removed from office.

"What most people outside of Kiri don't know is the order of succession. When the Mizukage is removed from office or dies without naming a successor, the first people considered for and offered the job are the active Swordsmen, in order of seniority. After that, any former Swordsmen that are retired, but still in good enough health and physical shape to take the job. If none of them take it, the opening goes to any active shinobi who can prove they've got what it takes.

"The Mizukage was afraid for his job, so without warning, he disbanded the Swordsmen, branding us all traitors. We fled Kiri, hiding from the ANBU and the Hunter-nin sent after us. After about two years of this, I heard that Kenji-sensei had been killed, a bystander in a riot. Officially, that was what had happened. However, I knew about the grudge, and the details of the report were sketchy enough that it looked like an assassination cover-up, especially to someone trained to do that sort of thing."

"Wait a second. The Hokage showed me the report on his death. He thought he was a bystander, too."

"Each village's assassination teams do things differently. Different poisons, variations in weapons, that sort of stuff. Someone who knows what to look for could tell which village killed someone. Kenji-sensei's death had all the signs of a Kiri assassin.

"I knew that if the Mizukage died, the Swordsmen could be reformed, to choose a new Mizukage from our ranks. With any luck, the new Mizukage would work to end the civil war, which I believe Kenji-sensei would have wanted. So, I decided to try and kill the Mizukage and restore order to Mizu no Kuni. It didn't work, and here I am now."

"So, you aren't going to kill us because one of us is related to your late sensei?"

"Yeah, pretty much, out of respect for him and a wish to keep living. If the gaki were fully trained, I'd be in deep shit had I actually followed through with my attack."

Kurenai looked at Zabuza for a long moment, then asked, "So what do you plan on doing now? You haven't followed through with your original plan, and when we arrive in Konoha, we will have to report that we saw you, and that you have help."

"Yeah, I know," Zabuza let out a humorless chuckle. "I don't suppose Konoha would take us in, seeing as I'm a missing-nin."

"I wouldn't say that just yet." Six heads turned to look at Naruto. Kiba asked the question for all of them.

"What are you talking about?"

"First off, this is completely unofficial, so I can't promise anything. Depending on what you're willing to agree to, there are a couple of options. You can try and become a Konoha shinobi. The Hokage is well aware that most missing-nin became missing-nin because they didn't like how their village was being run. Such shinobi can petition to the Hokage to join Konoha."

"I would still have to be able to see him first. Even if I enter the village in chains, I wouldn't be able to get a meeting with him."

"If you're serious, it can be arranged for you to meet him outside the village. We would just need to send a message with the general details. Are you interested?"

Haku looked over to Zabuza. "Zabuza-sama, whatever you decide, I support you."

"Well, it would mean giving up on trying to become Mizukage and end the civil war, which was my main goal in all of this. On the other hand, I'm tired of being a fugitive. So what details do you need from us?"

Naruto reached into his pack, pulling out paper and a pencil.

"At this point, all I need are your names, former village or country, rank, reason for leaving, and any special abilities you have to offer the village. Except for your reason, we've already got most of that information on you, from your bingo book entry. We would need the stuff for your associate, though."

"My name is Haku, formerly of Mizu no Kuni."

"Okay, what was your rank before you left?"

"I didn't have one. I was never a registered shinobi in any village. When I was young, Zabuza-sama took me in and trained me. Until then, I was an orphan, a result of the Massacre."

"So you don't even qualify as a missing-nin. Shouldn't be any problems getting you in, then. Why were you orphaned by the Massacre?"

"I... I have a Kekkai Genkai, from my mother. I can manipulate water to form ice. My father found out. He killed my mother, but I killed him before he could get me."

Naruto grimaced. "I see. The village is going to love you. Much as I might not like it, Konoha is a haven for Kekkai Genkai."

"I will be welcome there? All because I have a Kekkai Genkai? And what do you mean you don't like it?"

"Pretty much. As for what I meant, Konoha loves Kekkai Genkai, to the point of almost worshiping some of them. The more powerful ones even get special treatment in some things. I acknowledge their existence and admit that they are useful, but I don't feel they deserve special treatment because of it."

"Ah. I remember Zabuza-sama telling me once about how things were before the Massacre. The clans with Kekkai Genkai were treated as equals, not as superiors."

Naruto finished writing. "I wish I had been able to see it. Grudge against the Uzumaki or not, it sounded like my kind of place. Alright, I'll get this to Konoha, somehow."

Kurenai whistled, and a hawk flew down. "Here, Naruto. This hawk will take this directly to the Hokage."

Tying the message to the bird's leg, she set it free. It took off, heading in the direction of Konoha.

--

Three days later, the seven shinobi and dog found themselves at a Konoha outpost on Hi no Kuni's border. The Hokage's reply had directed them to this specific location as a meeting ground. After waiting for about an hour, three figures appeared. The Hokage had brought Iruka and Kakashi with him.

"Hello all. I hope you two don't mind that I brought company. Standard procedure for things like this."

"It's alright. I was honestly surprised we got a response so fast. I thought you would have taken some time to consider whether or not meeting us was a good idea."

"Had anyone other than Naruto sent it, I would have. However, one thing that I have learned about Naruto is that his instincts about people are rarely wrong. If he thought you were sincere in wanting to come to Konoha, and that your reasons for your past actions are worth hearing, I will hear you out."

After Zabuza and Haku told their stories, the Hokage sat and thought for a few minutes. Then, he spoke. "You both meet my requirements for becoming Konoha shinobi, but your reputation, Zabuza, means you probably couldn't be an active-duty shinobi, at least not initially. You would be a reserve. Haku, however, has no record, and can be an active shinobi in whatever field he wishes.

"You could also become operatives for us. It's a bit riskier than the first option, but then again, why be a ninja if you don't want to take risks? You would supply us with information and goods not available through normal channels. In return, you would be paid and have access to Konoha's safe-houses across the Elemental Countries."

"If I were to become a reserve shinobi, what would my duties be?"

"Hmm. Your daily duties would most likely be in the armory, forging or inspecting. That, or maintaining our emergency equipment and shelters. If you want, you could also be called upon to serve as an exam proctor for the Chuunin Exams. Also, if you were willing, we would ask you on occasion to train some shinobi in kenjutsu."

"I thought a village like yours would have several accomplished kenjutsu users."

"We do have many kenjutsu specialists, but out of all of them, only one, Gekko Hayate, is also a capable teacher. I find that unacceptable, and since those of the Mist are trained to use a sword in the Academy, you would be a perfect choice for another teacher."

"Would I be able to choose my students?"

"Within reason, of course."

Haku spoke. "What of me, Hokage-sama?"

"You have no record as an active shinobi for any village. While this means you are free to join us, it also means we have nothing to compare your abilities with. Procedure states that in such cases, I cannot enlist you as anything above a Chuunin, regardless of what you are really capable of. After you settle in, you would be tested to determine your starting rank.

"Naruto has also made me aware about your Kekkai Genkai. If you decide to become a Konoha shinobi, the village council will find out about it, and they do have a say in the terms of your moving into the village. They may make a condition that would require you to 'breed' your Kekkai Genkai."

"Breed?"

"It isn't quite as bad as it sounds. It simply requires that you have multiple children, in hopes of passing on the Kekkai Genkai. It can also be arranged for in vitro fertilization if you want."

"Then, may I make a condition as well?" At Sarutobi's nod, Haku continued. "Wherever Zabuza-sama goes, I will follow. If Konoha wants my Kekkai Genkai, they will have to accept Zabuza-sama as well."

"That is acceptable to me. Have the two of you reached a decision?"

"I'll join."

"Me too."

"Alright. Now, Haku, should you make Chuunin, what specialty would you like to pursue?"

"Truthfully, I have no idea. I would, however, request non-combat duty. Something sedate, at least until I can adjust and make a decision."

"Fair enough. Let's see... Ah! Iruka, have you filled Mizuki's position at the academy yet?"

"No, I haven't, Hokage-sama."

"That would work. It isn't quite sedate, but it isn't combat. At least, not the sort you would expect. It would also help you adjust to how we do things in Konoha."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama."

With that, the group of ten humans and one canine set of towards Konoha.

-- -

AN: Well, there you have it.

One of my few complaints with most story-lines that save Zabuza and Haku is that Zabuza is almost instantly accepted into the active-duty ranks. I just don't see that happening that fast.

Next time: Catching Up


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Kishimoto can have this. I don't care.

AN: Well, I didn't think I'd need to say this, but I guess I do. Haku is a guy here. I honestly don't think I could really do a FemHaku justice with this fic. Another time, perhaps.

**Rivers of Hades**

_Chapter 10_

Two weeks had passed since the mission to Uzu no Kuni. Zabuza and Haku had become Konoha shinobi without much incident. Zabuza was given six months of probation before he could be considered for active duty. His first act as a Konoha shinobi had been to find Gekko Hayate and challenge him to a spar, to gauge himself against the man known as the top swordsman in Konoha. Hayate accepted, and the match was witnessed by the Hokage and several other shinobi. The result wound up being a draw, as the training ground it took place at needed complete restoration afterwards.

Haku had been granted Chuunin rank, and had been assigned to the Academy, as Iruka's assistant. He soon discovered that he enjoyed working there. He also discovered a new appreciation for his Kekkai Genkai, as certain aspects of it, like his mirrors, turned out to be very useful in dealing with the students. It allowed him to break up fights and catch cheating students almost immediately.

His biggest issue with Konoha life were his 'admirers'. When they first announced his acceptance into the village, he suddenly had villagers trying to bribe him into marrying into their families. Even though Haku had been referred to throughout the speech as male, several people had not heard it, resulting in several offers to marry their sons. Haku put up with this for three days, before he ended it, by walking into a public men's room and using the urinal. The villagers with sons withdrew their offers, embarrassed. That still left the families with girls, though.

In addition to the payment for a successful C-Rank mission, Naruto and Team 8 received a bonus for bringing in two talented shinobi and a new Kekkai Genkai to the village. Naruto tried to return his portion of the mission payment, saying that since he profited personally from the mission, he didn't need the money. Sarutobi and Kurenai countered by saying that since he did not hire the team for the mission, he would still be paid. The same would have held true even if the mission had come from the Hyuuga, Aburame, or Inuzuka clans. Naruto grudgingly accepted the money after that.

--

One afternoon, the current active Genin cells were having a meeting in the Hokage's office. It was Sarutobi's idea, so that the Jounin-sensei could exchange ideas about how to best train their teams, and just compare progress. It was optional for the Genin to attend, so Sasuke had declined, preferring to train alone. Sakura had also declined, hoping to get a date with the Uchiha. Ino hadn't known Sasuke wasn't coming, so she was at the meeting. Teams 8 and 10, Gai's team, Kakashi, Sai, and Naruto were sitting, waiting for the Hokage to speak.

Sarutobi cleared his throat. "Alright, it looks like everyone is here that is going to show. Let's begin. How about a general team progress report? Kakashi, why don't you start?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama. Team 7 is... still not ready for a C-Rank. Judging by individual ability, Sai and Sasuke are ready for the bigger stuff. As a whole, though, they still lack the necessary teamwork for a successful mission. Sasuke continues to believe that the others, including me to a degree, are holding him back, and won't work with them. As a result, I'm running low on new teamwork exercises to have them do."

"Why you? And what about Sakura?"

"I include myself because I find myself constantly telling them that they aren't ready for harder missions. Sasuke may see that as me holding him back from, and I quote, 'gaining more power'. Sakura has improved from when she graduated, but not as much as I would have liked. She's improved her chakra control with the tree-climbing exercise, and does well enough with the other genin-level exercises I've had her do. Unfortunately, she is currently unable to properly concentrate whenever Sasuke is around, which on a C-Rank mission could spell disaster.

"I've been trying with varying degrees of success to rid Sakura of her fangirl habits. To her credit, she makes an honest effort every time, but after a while, she backslides, and we have to start all over again."

Asuma raised an eyebrow. "Weird. What got her so focused on improving herself all of a sudden? Everything she's done has screamed 'fangirl'."

"It happened about a month or so ago," Kakashi sighed, "We had just finished training for the day. Sai and Sasuke had already left. Sakura came up to me, rather depressed. She said she felt she was a burden to her team, and was considering returning to civilian life. I asked why she felt that way, and she replied that she wasn't showing improvement in any area. I had noticed this, and had been trying to find a way to talk to her about it for some time.

"I asked her to tell me about her training regimen. She described something a civilian would do to maintain their current weight. A ninja would only do that routine as part of rehabilitation after a serious injury. I told her that, and offered to help, but only if she would take her training seriously. She agreed, and has shown marked improvement ever since."

"So why is she backsliding?"

"She backslides because she is on a team with the reason she became a fangirl in the first place. I can help her with the physical aspects of shinobi life, but I'm helpless at training kunoichi mentally."

Ino huffed, "She's probably trying to impress Sasuke-kun. As if she could. I'm going to-"

"Ino," Asuma put his hand on her shoulder. "I didn't want to say this in front of everyone, but your training is suffering because of the Uchiha too. You don't eat properly, and as a result, you can't train properly."

"Is it a crime to watch my figure? I don't want to gain weight, so I'm on a diet."

"It isn't a crime, but it could cost you dearly later. Besides, if you increase your training regimen, you'll burn off the extra calories anyway."

Naruto added, "You know, pretty much the only thing you and the rest of the Uchiha's fangirls haven't tried doing to win him over is take your duties as kunoichi seriously."

Ino glared at him. "I'll have you know that a lot of kunoichi are chosen for missions because of their looks. Looking our best is one of our duties for those missions."

Kiba snorted, "Yeah, but you don't get those kinds of missions until you're at least fifteen or sixteen and a Chuunin. Naruto's right, maybe if you try being a real kunoichi, you'll stand a chance with him."

Something in the eyes of the boys that knew Sasuke said that they didn't think it would work. Ino didn't notice.

"You think so? Asuma-sensei, I'll be at the training ground." With that, Ino blasted out of the Hokage's office, heading towards the training grounds.

Naruto blinked, then asked, "Okay, I need a judgment call on something. How ghould guilty I feel about what we just did? I mean, we shouldn't manipulate our comrades like that, but we did it so Ino would work on being a better kunoichi, even if she's doing it for the wrong reasons."

Asuma thought for a moment, then replied, "You're right, it isn't good to push the buttons of your fellow shinobi like that, but now that she found the determination to improve, Shikamaru, Chouji, and I can work with her until she's improving for the right reasons. All things considered, it was a big carrot and a little stick."

Sai looked up from his drawing. In a complete deadpan, he said, "Funny you should say that, Sarutobi-san, considering she's after the Uchiha. A little stick is exactly what he's got to work with."

The higher ranking shinobi, along with Neji and Shino, managed to keep a straight face, though the adults were cracking up inside. Hinata was looking very uncomfortable listening to comments on the supposed 'shortcomings' of one of her classmates. Tenten was trying not to laugh, and failing. The other boys, however, didn't even try to stop themselves, laughing out loud. When they calmed down, the meeting continued.

--

The next day, Sarutobi was talking to Naruto in the training field they normally used.

"Naruto-kun, you've met, and in several cases, surpassed, every expectation I had for you. As a result, I think it's time we stepped up your training."

"Okay sensei, but what do you mean by stepping it up?"

"Up to now, I have had you do everything as one person. Now we will start incorporating **Kage Bunshin** into your training. You already know that they can be used to perform extra work, and now I'm going to help you make the most of your... unique proficiency with that jutsu."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Naruto-kun, no one else has ever been able to make as many as you can. That means that if you use them wisely, you can benefit more than anyone else. Right now, why don't you make about, oh, fifty **Kage Bunshin**. Then, split them into three groups. Twenty will work on chakra control, another twenty on kunai and shuriken training. The final ten will come with us and work on an advanced jutsu. We can adjust the numbers later if we need."

"Just one jutsu, sensei? If I have ten clones helping me, couldn't I learn eleven?"

"Yes, you can, but I would rather you have a handful of jutsu that you can perform properly, instead of a large amount of jutsu you can't. If you want to use them that way, you are free to do so on your own time. Here, however, we'll do it my way."

"Oh, I get it. Same system as before. Get this one right, and then move on. Alright."

Naruto created the fifty clones, sorting them into their groups.

"So, sensei, what's the jutsu?

"Today, you'll be learning **Suiton: Teppoudama Rendan**."

--

Naruto slowly left the training ground, completely exhausted. Because of his clones, he had gotten the jutsu down in a short amount of time. As a result, Sarutobi decided to move on to a jutsu from Naruto's clan library. The one they eventually decided on was one neither of them knew, so they would both walk away from today's training with at least one new jutsu. By the time they were done for the day, Sarutobi had two new jutsu, and Naruto had three.

It had been Sarutobi's first chance to really see what had been brought back from Uzu no Kuni. The mission report said there were legendary jutsu in the scroll, and Kurenai had listed some of them by name, but he still wasn't prepared to actually see the seals holding the scrolls right in front of him. It took nearly all of Sarutobi's will power not to unseal the scrolls and jump up and down, screaming gleefully at the top of his lungs, like Naruto had done when he was younger. Of course, every now and then, Naruto would still do that, but it was a rare occurrence.

The first jutsu they chose to learn wasn't legendary, but it was rather obscure, almost forgotten. Sarutobi had only heard of it in the history lectures his teachers, the Shodai and Nidaime Hokages, had given him when he was Naruto's age. Looking over the notes in the jutsu scroll, he realized that this was not the original jutsu. It had been reverse-engineered some time ago, and given to the Uzumaki clan as a wedding gift, apparently.

**Ninpou: Tsurugi no Kabe** was a variant on **Kunai** or **Shuriken Kage Bunshin**. In theory, it was rather simple. A sword would be duplicated many times. Then, chakra would be applied to position and manipulate the swords. The swords would remain in a fixed location, by default pointing vertically up, but their angle could be adjusted to skewer anything it came into contact with, giving the jutsu both defensive and offensive capabilities. Manipulating their formations, it was supposedly possible to create a wall of great height and width, though doing that sacrificed part of its defensive abilities by spreading the swords out.

The jutsu proved rather demanding. Creating the extra swords took a sizable amount of chakra, and forming and adjusting the wall needed at least Chuunin-level control. In order for Naruto to understand how it worked, Sarutobi demonstrated **Kunai/Shuriken Kage Bunshin**. He didn't show Naruto the seals, saying he wasn't quite ready for it, that he would need to work on seal speed before he could learn it. Naruto wasn't happy about it, but there was a good reason and he wasn't being denied the jutsu completely. Like everything Sarutobi taught him, he would learn it when he was ready, and not before.

Overall, both master and apprentice felt **Tsurugi no Kabe** was a useful jutsu to know. A footnote said there was a similar, slightly easier jutsu among the scrolls. Locating it, they decided to try that one too. This one was an original, though it was given to the Uzumaki as payment for something, a mission of some sort, most likely.

**Doton: Yari no Kabe** proved to be much more to their liking. Another jutsu that was both defensive and offensive, it needed less control and the amount of chakra consumed depended on the user's needs. The more chakra applied, the bigger the effect. On use, a miniature forest of sharp stone spears would shoot up from the ground in any direction the user wanted, so it was possible to surround a target, completely trapping them. The spears came up to the middle of Sarutobi's chest, so jumping over them wasn't an option. The downside was that the spears were anchored to the ground, making them relatively useless against an aerial attack.

When Naruto asked why a Doton jutsu was given as payment to a clan of Suiton and Futon users, Sarutobi replied that, to civilians in a non-shinobi village, a jutsu was a jutsu. Deciding that was enough jutsu training for one day, Sarutobi had Naruto move onto the next segment in his training regimen.

--

As Naruto passed a restaurant, he noticed four diners in particular. Asuma, Kakashi and Kurenai were sitting at the same table, along with a Tokubetsu Jounin Naruto often ran into when delivering messages to the Interrogation Department, Mitarashi Anko. She was okay. Crazy as hell, but okay. Asuma and Kakashi had notebooks with them, and were writing in them.

Racking his brain for a reason why the four of them would be together, Naruto remembered that after the meeting, Kurenai had offered to give the two men advice on how to permanently de-fangirl Sakura and Ino. Anko was probably there to help as well. Apparently, a kunoichi can only be 'cured' of being a fangirl through the intervention of other, stronger kunoichi. Or, at least, that was Naruto's best guess.

He just hoped that it wouldn't get bad enough to where Kurenai and Anko would take a more involved role with his two classmates. Neither of them were at all patient with kunoichi who didn't take training seriously.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Kakashi call him over.

"What's up, Kakashi?"

"You done training for the day?"

"Yeah, I am. I figured I'd go home, shower, change, and then find something to eat. Why?"

"Well, we're almost out of a couple things, and completely out of some others. Could I talk you into doing some grocery shopping?"

"Okay, sure. What do we need?"

Kakashi turned to the very back of his notebook. Some of the things Naruto saw on the pages were probably the tips for Sakura. The rest seemed to be notes on some new teamwork exercises, a couple of which Naruto recognized from the mission with Team 8. Kakashi ripped out a piece of the page and jotted down a list of about ten items.

"Here you go. Thanks, Naruto."

"No problem. See you at home." With that, Naruto took off.

--

Once Naruto was out of earshot, Asuma asked a question.

"So, Kakashi, tell us something. Exactly how stable is he?"

Kakashi narrowed his eye. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Sorry. That came out wrong. What I meant was, are there any signs of his... oh, what's the word Dad likes using? Got it! His tenant? Anything new besides what we already know? You and Dad are the two who spend the most time around him."

"The only signs we've noticed are mostly physical. The whisker marks, his rapid healing, and ungodly stamina. His reserves are enormous, to the point where if he concentrates, he can actually create a visible aura of chakra. Problem is, because of that, his control will need constant work. Double, maybe triple the amount anyone else would need, just to keep it in check.

"Mentally, though, we've absolutely no clue. He's been on his own so long, without anyone able to regularly check on him, there's no way to know if he's always been the way he is now. He told me that he used to keep a journal, but they were always destroyed by the villagers, so he stopped."

Anko whistled. "Crap. So he may very well be a time bomb."

"Yeah. Although, if that proves to be the case, the positive turn his life has taken in the last couple years may be enough to buy us time to to defuse the situation. Personally, I don't think there's going to be a problem, so long as no one tries anything stupid. The most anyone's done to him since he moved in with me has been glaring, or yelling insults if they're drunk. Even that has become almost non-existent since Hokage-sama started training him."

"Well, yeah. He's the Hokage's student. No Konoha citizen in their right mind would attack someone under his protection."

"You forget, he's had the Hokage's protection his entire life. It was ignored. Any attack on Naruto has always been considered treason, and punished as such. The only difference is, now Sandaime-sama is taking an active role in it. Right now, an attacking Naruto would be seen as an attack on Sandaime-sama, which no one in the village would want to admit to being a part of."

"So were there any problems when he moved in?"

"There were a couple. Before Naruto moved in, Sandaime-sama had me talk to a specialist, a child psychologist who dealt with cases like this. She explained some of the difficulties that were more than likely going to crop up as a result from Naruto being on his own for so long. So far, she's been pretty accurate. Naruto had a tough time adjusting at first, and it shows up again every once in a while. Despite the fact that he seems like an open book, he's actually rather private with most things. He's also unsure on how to handle his emotions at times. He understands them, he just doesn't always know what to do about them."

Anko cleared her throat. "As riveting as this is, could we get back to what we came here for? Asuma, what I think would work best for Ino is aggressive negative stimuli therapy."

Asuma's jaw dropped. "Anko, are you nuts? I want Ino to take her training seriously! Why would you even suggest that?"

Getting back on topic, the discussion continued for several more hours.

-- -

AN: Okay, now for an explanation for Sakura trying not to be a fangirl so early on.

She still tends to think of Naruto as the 'dobe'. The catch is, since she isn't on a team with someone she thinks of as a worse ninja than herself, she got hit with the whole 'I'm just dead weight' insecurity issue early. Kakashi took advantage of this, and started getting her to improve herself, so she wouldn't feel like that. The problem is, since she's on the same team as the object of her affections, it's a continual battle to maintain her will to improve.

Overall, I'm not so sure about this chapter. Something just doesn't seem quite right about it to me, and I don't know what. If I figure it out, I might repost it when I upload the next chapter. Your help would be much appreciated in this.

-- -

**Suiton: Teppoudama Rendan** - Water Release: Gunshot Combo

**Ninpou: Tsurugi no Kabe** - Ninja Art: Wall of Swords

**Doton: Yari no Kabe** - Earth Release: Wall of Spears

-- -

Next time: A New Experience


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**Rivers of Hades**

_Chapter 11_

Naruto exited the bathroom of the apartment he shared with Kakashi. The groceries had already been put away, and he had just finished his shower. "Time for food. Now then, do I eat here or at Ichiraku's? What am I saying, Ichiraku's, of course!"

Deciding to wait a little bit before going, Naruto grabbed his copy of his clan library scroll.

"Let's see... What to read, what to read... Hmm? _The Uzumaki Clan and the Rivers of Hades_."

Naruto unsealed the spot marked, revealing another scroll. He opened it, and began to read. It turned out that the scroll was an account on how the Uzumaki clan supposedly gained the River techniques, and the changes made to them in the time since.

Shortly after the founding of the shinobi nations, the Shinigami came for the soul of a dying infant of the Uzumaki clan. When he arrived, he reached for the soul, but it would not leave the body. The body was dying, but the infant was clinging to life through willpower alone. The Shinigami knew this sort of thing happened on occasion, but it happening in infants, especially ones not in a hospital, was very rare.

The Shinigami made himself visible to the members of the clan standing vigil around the infant. They reacted as one would expect. The Shinigami, in an almost unheard of act, offered his condolences at the situation. He told them that had a job to fulfill, but taking infants and children was never easy for him.

The clan head stepped forward, telling him that the child was dying from a birth defect that no medical treatment could stop, leaving him in constant pain. Their only solace came from the hope that the child would be spared further pain. The Shinigami told them there was no darkness on the soul, that there was no reason for him to suffer any more than he already had.

The Uzumaki present broke down in tears. The child's parents, trying to calm themselves enough to speak coherently, thanked the Shinigami for telling them.

This stunned him. Normally, humans begged him not to take a soul, offering promises and bribes. They didn't thank him for coming to take one.

The parents continued, offering what help they could possibly provide him, should he ever need it. Anyone observing this would have gaped. Mortal beings, offering to help a seemingly omnipotent being like the Shinigami?

The Shinigami had paused at that offer. While it was true that he did have virtually unlimited power, he was also bound by laws as well, preventing him from becoming directly involved in most mortal affairs outside of his normal duties. With human agents, he would have a loophole, should he ever need it.

With that in mind, the Shinigami made the Uzumaki clan an offer. The infant had to die, but if the clan would serve as his agents among the living should he ever have need of them, he would be willing to give the clan some small amount of compensation. Negotiations began, awkwardly at first due to the emotional state of those present, but eventually an agreement was made. The Uzumaki would help the Shinigami when he needed them to, and they would gain the ability to summon water from the Rivers and an ancient being. As soon as the deal was final, the infant's body finally gave out.

In the decades following the deal, many changes were made. The Uzumaki were good people, but they were still human, and occasionally misused the abilities they had been given, like using Phlegethon for heat in the winter. Why waste firewood if you know a jutsu that burns without fuel?

Fearing that the Shinigami would be upset, the clan elders decided to restrict the ability to use the Rivers. Seals were designed for each River, eliminating the need for the hand seals that had been used since they gained the ability. The seals were designed so that, in order to use a River, the user would have to either be in a life-threatening situation, or feel intense emotion. Positive or negative, it didn't matter, it was the strength of the emotion that counted. Also, the seals would become available in a specific order, to prevent someone who wasn't ready from using Lethe and Mnemosyne. The seals were then keyed to the basic standards of the shinobi ranks; genin, chuunin, and jounin. Upon meeting the base requirements for each rank, two more Rivers could be unlocked. Once the seals were finished, the use of the hand seals was forbidden.

Looking over the requirements for each level, Naruto noticed that, by these standards, he had been capable of using the second pair for the last week. He just hadn't been in a situation where he needed to use them. It was also noted on the scroll that, in order to better hold up their end of the bargain, the clan decided that they would gain knowledge in various subjects. They had reasoned that having a broader base of knowledge in things beyond shinobi life would allow them to better do the Shinigami's bidding, should their services ever be called upon.

The clock caught Naruto's eye. "Crap! I've been sitting here reading for an hour and a half! If I want Ichiraku's, I need to leave now!"

Moving at a speed only available when running late, Naruto resealed the scroll, put it back in his room, and blasted out the door.

--

"Gotta move, gotta move, gotta -OOPH!"

Naruto had collided with someone, knocking them both over. Picking himself up, he looked at who he had run into.

"Hinata-chan?"

"N-Naruto-kun!"

"Hey there. What are doing here?"

"Kurenai-sensei cut our training short today. I-I stayed behind and trained by myself. I finished, and was heading home when I ran into you. I'm so sorry!"

"Don't worry about it. Tell you what, why don't we eat at Ichiraku's? My treat?"

"Naruto-kun," Hinata blushed lightly, "Are... are you asking me out on a d-date?"

Now Naruto was blushing too, scratching the back of his head. "I guess... I guess I am asking you out. What do you say?"

"I-I'd l-love to"

"Great! Let's go!"

With that, Naruto took off, heading towards Ichiraku's. Hinata stood there, shocked. Naruto had asked her out of his own free will, and she had accepted! Afterwards, she was going to need to find a room where she could celebrate properly.

She was embarrassed to admit it, even to herself, but like the members of Sasuke's fan club, she had a victory dance planned for just such an occasion, being asked out by the object of affection. Her status as the heiress, as well as her personality, prevented her from doing it where there was even the slightest chance of someone else seeing. She was deciding on possible locations when she heard Naruto's voice.

"Hey, Hinata-chan, are you coming or not?"

--

When the two arrived at Ichiraku's, Naruto hopped up onto a stool. Hinata calmly took one next to him. Ayame walked up to the counter, a big smile on her face.

"Naruto-kun, it's been three days! We were getting worried! And who is this?"

"Ayame-nee, this is Hinata-chan. Hinata-chan, this is Ayame. She and her dad own this place. I've been coming here for as long as I can remember."

"It's a p-pleasure to meet you, Ayame-san."

"Likewise. Now, what can I get you two?"

--

After the ramen had been served, light conversation broke out. Teuchi had come out from the back and was introduced to Hinata. Ayame took the chance to ask a question that had been on her mind for a while.

"So, Naruto, how's your training coming along? Must be something else, if it's keeping you from coming here."

"It's really cool! The only thing I'm really missing out on is what it's like being on a team."

Teuchi sighed. "Naruto, she was asking what it's like being the Hokage's apprentice. No offense, but for a ninja, you aren't very good at picking up on what _isn't_ being said."

Naruto blinked. "Hey! I'm working on it! Being the Hokage's apprentice is really tough. A lot of people keep telling me they're expecting great things from me, even if they're just sucking up to my sensei. Still, I'm not complaining."

"You aren't? That's a lot of pressure to deal with."

"Until a couple years ago, I could count on one hand the number of people in this village who honestly expected me to ever amount to anything. Yeah, I'll complain about being called an idiot, or any number of things, but I don't ever see myself complaining about someone expecting me to be better."

"That could change, Naruto. Everything can change. Now, what's this I've been hearing about you getting a kenjutsu teacher?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! Tomorrow, I start kenjutsu lessons with Momochi Zabuza."

"We know abut his reputation, and that he came back with you two after that C-Rank mission a while ago, but what's so special that has other shinobi talking about it? Some of them were fairly annoyed at the news."

"When I first started training with sensei, a lot of shinobi started making offers to train me in different areas. For the most part, they just wanted to suck up to sensei, and we turned down their offers. Some made the offer just because they really wanted to help. Maito Gai was the only one whose offer we seriously considered accepting, because I needed a taijutsu teacher who could spar with me. If sensei ever sparred with me, he'd be bed-ridden for a week. We didn't want to take advantage of him, so we made an agreement. So the reason other shinobi are talking about it is probably because it's rare for me to ever get steady training from someone other than sensei or Gai-sensei."

"Okay, that makes sense, but I was under the impression Hokage-sama was an experienced weapons user. Why, then, is he having you study under someone else?"

"He is a weapon user, but he specializes in fighting with a staff, mainly Enma, the Ape Lord, in his transformed state. He's good with swords too, but he told me that Zabuza would be teaching me."

"Hmm... I wonder why that is."

"I-I'm not sure, but my guess is that it's part of s-something about ap-appearances."

Naruto turned to look at Hinata. "Why do you say that, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata took some calming breaths. She wanted to stutter as little as possible.

"Zabuza-san has a reputation for being dangerous. P-part of his agreement to live here was that he would be able to teach ken-jutsu. The p-problem is, if everyone is afraid of him, no one will ask for training. That's probably why you're going to learn from him. If H-Hokage-sama isn't willing to trust his student to be safe learning from Zabuza-san, w-who will?"

"That's very true," Teuchi spoke up, "a leader needs to be able to trust those he leads, but those that are led must also be able to trust their leader to make decisions that will benefit them all. Hokage-sama has taken a very big gamble in making Zabuza-san and Haku-san Konoha shinobi. He needs to show that he was right in doing so. Haku-san, from what I've heard, has already proven he was worth it, simply by his performance as an Academy instructor, not to mention his Kekkai Genkai. Zabuza, however, has not been given the chance..."

"... Which is why I'm learning from him," Naruto finished, "to give him the chance to prove he's worth whatever may happen when Kiri finds out, or any of Zabuza's enemies. But we're still just guessing. We don't know for sure."

"Well now, my daughter and the Hokage's student, eating together. This is... unexpected."

The new voice caused the four to look around for the source. Hyuuga Hiashi was standing next to one of Ichiraku's walls, an eyebrow raised. Hinata started tensing up.

"I was aware that the two of you were in the same class at the Academy, and that you participated in a C-Rank mission together. I wasn't, however, aware that the relationship between you was anything more than that of comrades."

Naruto was sure that had this been any other parent, they would either be smirking, or would pull their child away. Hiashi, or any Hyuuga save Hinata, however, was pretty much unreadable. Naruto decided his best bet was to explain himself quickly, and mind his manners. He had seen pictures of what a Hyuuga who was proficient with Jyuuken could do to someone, and Hiashi was certainly more than proficient.

"Hyuuga-sama, let me explain. I was heading here to eat, when I ran into your daughter, who had just finished training by herself. I asked her to join me, and she agreed. If my offer disrupted any plans, I apologize."

"Your apology is unnecessary. I wasn't expecting to see my daughter until later. Hinata, you will be sparring against your sister tonight."

Hinata gulped. "Hai, tou-san."

"Wait a second. You want her to spar against her sister?"

"Yes, I do. Do you have a problem with that, Uzumaki-san?"

"Well, if you want her to spar her sister, I know it's none of my business. I just don't see why."

"It is necessary. Hinata has never beaten her sister, Hanabi, nor her cousin, Neji, whom I am aware you occasionally spar against when you train with his sensei."

"Okay, but you still haven't explained why Hinata needs to spar with her own sister. Unless both are extremely cold-hearted, you're never going to see their full abilities."

Hiashi's eyebrow raised again. "So you feel that Hinata holds herself back because she doesn't want to harm her sister? Why do you say that?"

"I'll admit that my knowledge of how things work in a shinobi clan like yours, let alone a family, is pretty much non-existent. What I do understand is that while siblings will fight, most of it will be verbally, with a little roughhousing. Making them face each other accomplishes nothing except causing bad blood between them, and Hinata just doesn't seem like the type of person who would want to do that."

"Tell me, how sure of this are you?"

"I'm very sure."

"Very well. Hinata will not spar her sister this time. Instead, she will spar you."

Naruto blinked. "Me?"

"Yes, you. You were sure that Hinata is holding herself back when she spars someone she is related to. You are not related to her, so by your logic, she will not hold back against you. Or are you unsure of my daughter's ability to prove you right?"

Naruto winced when he realized how deep a hole he had dug for himself. Either he would spar Hinata, and risk hurting her physically, or decline, and hurt her emotionally by saying he didn't have faith in her. "Alright, I'll spar Hinata. Where and when?"

"The dojo at the Hyuuga compound, in an hour. Hinata knows the way." With that, Hiashi took his leave.

"N-Naruto-kun, why did you do that? You didn't have to accept!"

"Hinata-chan, I'm sorry I got you into this mess. I opened my mouth without thinking, and I need to deal with the consequences."

"B-but I couldn't hurt you!"

"Hinata-chan, you're supposed to push yourself in a spar, physically and mentally. If you hold back, no one improves. Besides, as long as you don't try to deal a deathblow, I'll be fine."

"I'll try."

"No Hinata-chan, don't try, do."

--

An hour later, the two were facing each other in the Hyuuga dojo. Hiashi and Hanabi were the only other people watching. Hiashi spoke.

"Are you both ready?" Getting nods from both, he began the match.

Naruto was instantly on the defensive. Apparently, Hinata had taken his advice a little further than he had expected her to. From his infrequent spars with Neji, he knew that blocking would do little good against the Jyuuken, as even fleeting contact caused intense pain. He was better off dodging the strikes altogether. Of course, evading Hinata was no easy task. What she lacked in physical strength, she made up for in speed and agility.

Naruto took any opening he could, short of openings at the chest or groin. He didn't want to risk accidentally groping Hinata, especially in front of her father, a man who could do all sorts of really nasty and painful things to him. Seeing his best chance to end the spar, he performed a leg sweep on her, sending her to the ground. Unfortunately, he didn't react in time to save himself from Hinata's own leg sweep. One he was down, she was on top of him, a knee on his chest and a palm strike aimed at his head, a sure deathblow if she used even a little chakra. They were both still, until Hiashi spoke.

"I believe I have seen enough. Hinata, Uzumaki-san, would you both please sit down?" When both were seated, he continued. "Uzumaki-san, I must concede that your argument appears to have some merit to it. I have never seen Hinata perform so well, though it is too much of a jump in ability to be attributed solely to her not wanting to harm family.

"You said that making family members fight each other seemed cold-hearted. You are right, but I will explain why it is done this way, as it is a lesson you will need, should you achieve your stated goal, and make Hokage. Some day, one of my daughters will take over for me as clan head. Normally, as the oldest, Hinata would gain the position by default. At present, however, she has yet to meet what is expected of a potential clan head. Therefore, I must keep my options open, and consider Hanabi as a possible candidate as well."

"What is expected of the clan head? It can't be based entirely off the fighting ability."

"You're right. Though the clan head is expected to be exceptional with the Jyuuken, it is more important that the clan head has a strong will. Any leader, be it a clan head, a Kage, or a daimyo, will have to make decisions that go against what they believe in, in order to serve the greater good. At this point in your life, could you do that?"

Hiashi let them think about that momentarily, then continued.

"Another drawback to being a leader is that you will eventually make unpopular decisions, even if they are for the greater good. It is a fact of human nature that you can't please everyone. Yet, a leader must stand by his decisions. This is where Hinata falters the most. She wants to make everyone happy, and cares too much about how others see her."

"Isn't it a good thing that she cares how people see her?"

"In moderation, yes. After a certain point, however, you begin to care more about how you are perceived and less about performing the job properly. Leadership is not meant to be a popularity contest. This is why I have her spar her sister. If she is to lead the clan, she absolutely must have the ability to do what must be done, and live with the consequences."

"That does make sense, but isn't there another way? One that doesn't cause a rivalry between sisters?"

"I wish there was a better way. Unfortunately, the only alternatives I can think of are even worse than this. Hypothetical situations are not as effective because they are just that, hypothetical. They aren't real, so much of the potential impact is lost."

At this point, Hinata clutched her head and began making noises indicating she was in pain. Her father was at her side immediately, Naruto on her other side, with Hanabi staring at her, unsure of what was happening.

"Hinata, what's wrong?! Speak to me!"

Hinata couldn't speak through the pain, and was beginning to tear up. Hiashi activated his Byakugan to see what was happening, but he could find nothing out of the ordinary, other than an increased flow of chakra around her eyes. Eventually, the pain receded, and she could speak, albeit in short gasps.

"It-It hurts sometimes... for me to use the Byakugan. Usually, the longer I ha-have it activated, the worse the pain."

Hiashi quirked an eyebrow. "That would suggest that you were running low on chakra. However, when I looked at you just now, you had not yet used up half of your reserves. This is most unusual. Hmm... Hinata, Hanabi, the two of you may go. Hinata, I want you to go directly to bed. I would speak with Uzumaki-san in private before he leaves."

The two left, and Hiashi motioned for Naruto to come with him, out a different door.

"That was rather terrifying, but on to what I had intended to speak to you about. Do you understand now why I make them spar each other?"

"Yeah, but I still don't like it."

"For that matter, neither do I. Like you, I also don't believe family should fight physically. This clan is almost irreparably divided by it. Now then, to continue the discussion we were having before the... excitement, do you feel you are ready for the responsibilities of being Hokage?"

"Sensei has been teaching me how to perform the duties of the office, but we haven't even begun talking about the mental part of the job. He said that it would wait until I was more experienced."

"More experienced? How so?"

"He told me that even though I've been a shinobi for about four months now and I've been doing missions that are technically chuunin level almost daily, I haven't killed anyone yet."

"That makes sense. As Hokage, you will be sending shinobi on missions, missions they may not return from. In order to properly understand the importance of it, this particular lesson in military leadership is often saved until after the potential leader has taken a life. The families of those that die may resent you for sending their loved ones. Do you feel you will be strong enough to withstand that?"

"I've been despised by most of this village my entire life. I don't see how this will be any different."

"Oh, it will. I'm guessing that you are now aware of why you have been treated that way. The main difference is that what happened the day you were born was done _to_ you and you were ignorant of what had been done until very recently, I would imagine."

"Yeah," Naruto nodded, "I found out the day I graduated from the Academy."

"Well, as Hokage, you would be making a conscious decision to send people on the mission. You will see the anger, the resentment, and you will know why it is there. The guilt will be what separates what you have endured from what you will endure."

"So you think I'll make it? That I'll become Hokage some day?"

"Perhaps. You have stated that it is your goal. You are also being trained personally by the Hokage, moving you to the top of a very short list of potential successors. It would be foolish to ignore something like that."

The two had arrived at the front door.

"Well then, thank you for the lessons, Hyuuga-sama."

"You are very welcome. One more thing." Hiashi leaned in close. "If you ever make my daughter cry, and I find out, there is no place you can hide that I won't find you. Have a nice day."

Naruto turned three shades of white and swallowed loudly. He then walked out the door. Hiashi smirked.

'_Ah, the joys of being the father of a teenage daughter. I've waited a long time to act the over-protective father. I enjoyed it._'

-- -

AN: Like many other fans, I'm getting rather, shall we say, perturbed, at the way things have been going in canon for a while now. It pisses me off that, in order to stand a chance against the Sharingan, it seems that you either need a bloodline of your own, or an ability it can't copy. I swear, Kishimoto designed the Sharingan the same way little kids pick what superpowers they have when they're playing. 'I can fly, I'm bulletproof, and I have super-strength, all at the same time!' Of course, he also did something similar with the Rinnegan.

Yet another chapter I'm not particularly impressed with.

With regards to Hiashi, I'm still not sure what he's really going to be like as a father.

As for Hinata's mysterious pain, that is part of a longer story arc.

-- -

Next time: A Long Overdue Talk


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: This storyline is mine. The places, characters, basically everything else, isn't.

AN: Thanks for the positive reviews for the last chapter. I was really nervous about how Hiashi would go over with everyone. As for Hinata, she is NOT getting an uber-Byakugan.

**Rivers of Hades**

_Chapter 12_

Naruto stumbled up to the door to his and Kakashi's apartment, completely exhausted. Today's training had been a nightmare. He had been made to run a gauntlet of tests by his teachers today, as a test of his overall progress. Taijutsu with Gai had been first, followed by Zabuza and kenjutsu, followed by general weaponry. Sarutobi had covered everything else. He had passed each one, but collapsed after he was done. When he came to, he was under a tree, the three men talking to each other. When they noticed Naruto had rejoined the world of the living, they told him that would be altering parts of his training regimen based on how he had done. Naruto was sent home, under orders not to train again until tomorrow.

He unlocked the door. No one should be inside. Kakashi and Team 7 had been sent on an extended C-Rank a while back. They were escorting some bridge-builder to Nami no Kuni and acting as bodyguards for him until his latest project was finished. Kakashi was reluctant to take it when it was offered, as he still felt Team 7 wasn't ready. Individually, they were ready, but their teamwork was still below what it should have been by this point. It was in the hopes that this would snap the two male genin out of their respective dysfunctions that Kakashi accepted it.

"Yo."

Naruto blinked. Kakashi was lying down on a couch. Normally, this position was accompanied by a copy of Icha Icha, but the books were strangely absent today.

"Hey, you're home."

"Nope. I'm not really here. I'm just a figment of your imagination."

"Ha ha. When did you get back?"

"A couple hours ago. We reported to the **Kage Bunshin** Hokage-sama left in the office. It then dispelled itself to relay the information. I sent them home and came here." Kakashi's voice had a different tone to it. In place of the usual calm, almost apathetic tone, he sounded tired, not just physically, but emotionally.

Naruto took a seat in a nearby chair.

"So how did the mission go?"

"Well, our client wasn't exactly honest about the situation. On the way, we also ran into some missing-nin from Kiri, the Demon Brothers. After that, I confronted him about what was really going on. Turns out, instead of a small gang of bandits terrorizing his work site, he was really being targeted for assassination by a wealthy businessman and his personal army."

"Wait, he lied about why he wanted ninja? Why did you keep going?"

"It's true that if you discover that your client has falsified information vital to the mission, you have every right to quit then and there, and return to the village. The thing is, with a team, you need a majority decision to turn back. Sakura voted to go back, but Sai and Sasuke voted to continue."

"So what happened?"

"We continued on to his home. It turns out he has a daughter and a grandson. I wish you could have come along. His grandson needed someone to talk some sense into him, and you would have done the best job at it."

"What's his problem?"

"The man he considered his father was killed in public by the businessman, Gato, for standing up to him. After that, he became a rather sullen little brat, thinking standing up to Gato was useless."

"Now I wish sensei had sent me with you. One question, though. If you knew how outnumbered you were, why didn't you send for back-up?"

"I should have, but at the time, I thought it would have done more harm than good to send for back-up so soon."

"How do you figure that?"

"We were the last of this year's genin teams to take a C-Rank, because I felt they weren't ready. I accepted it because they are ready for more advanced missions. It was their first C-Rank, and if I had sent for more help so soon, they might see it as a sign that I still didn't think they were ready. I know you were sent along with Team 8 for your first C-Rank, but if Kurenai had decided that you needed help for some reason, wouldn't you have resented it?"

"Yeah, I suppose I would have seen it as a lack of faith in our abilities. Still, which is more important: showing your students you have faith in them or doing what you know you should do to make sure they survive?"

"I know, and that's one of my biggest problems. I'm an excellent shinobi in combat, but as a teacher, I suck. That's part of why I made sure that the graduating teams assigned to me always failed their test. Just because I'm called a genius shinobi doesn't mean I can teach others."

"I guess that makes sense. Anyway, what else happened on the mission?"

"Thankfully, the Demon Brothers were the only shinobi we had to fight. The rest were just a bunch of bandits and mercenaries Gato had hired. We fought them, and I killed Gato, along with most of his goons. We stayed a couple extra days to recover, and headed home. Sasuke spent most of the trip home sulking."

"Why would he sulk? Did he not get to do anything?"

"He was sulking because even though he had been in a battle, greatly outnumbered, he walked away from it without gaining the Sharingan."

"What? I thought it was supposed to activate in situations like that!"

"It is, but there's a catch. From what I understand, the Uchiha in question must be in a life-threatening situation, and they must also be able to admit it to themselves. Sasuke was fighting for his life, but he refused to see a bunch of non-shinobi, no matter how many there were, as a threat to him. Had there been a shinobi for him to fight, he might have activated it. As it stands, he's probably going to go looking for a strong shinobi to fight, in hopes it will unlock then. He'd been watching Haku and Zabuza train before we left, so he might go looking for a fight with one of them."

"I'll warn them not to accept if he challenges them. Haku will try to avoid a fight, but Zabuza wouldn't hold back from putting the teme in his place, which would be the hospital at best."

"Then you should definitely warn them. I just wish I could get through to Sasuke. I just want to do something to help him gain some peace of mind."

"I've been meaning to ask you about that. Why do you have such a personal interest in Sasuke? I know the council forced you to continue training the team, but why is he so important to you?"

"I'm... repaying a debt."

"A debt? Who do you owe so badly?"

"I really don't feel like talking about it, alright?"

"Kakashi, I really think you should talk about it. When I first moved in, you made me talk to you about things, so I could start trusting people with how I really felt. Why can't you share your story with me?"

Kakashi sighed. '_Curse him and his logic. He won't let it go until I tell him, either. I wonder which parent he got that from. Both of them could be damned stubborn when they wanted to._'

"If you're so sure, I'll tell you. How much do you know about my own genin team?"

"All I've been able to figure out is that you're the last surviving member."

"When I was about five, my father was part of a team sent on a important mission for the village. The mission failed, because my father chose to save the lives of his teammates, rather than complete the mission. For his efforts, he became a virtual outcast. Not even those he saved would speak to him. Eventually, he committed seppuku.

"When this happened, I took it to mean that completing the mission was the only thing that mattered, that teamwork and friendship were useless concepts. The rules were the only things that mattered to me. Later on, I attended the Academy, and at the age of seven, I graduated as the Rookie of the Year.

"My jounin-sensei was the man who would eventually become the Yondaime Hokage. My teammates were a kunoichi named Rin and... Uchiha Obito."

"Holy shit! Wait a second. If you were the Rookie of the Year, wouldn't that make him..."

"Yeah, Obito was the dobe that year. He was one of a handful of Uchiha shinobi that weren't the Rookie of the Year when they went through the Academy, and the only one to be the dobe."

"Bet that was a lot of fun for the other two on your team, having two icebergs on one team."

Kakashi snorted. "Actually, I acted more like a Uchiha than Obito did. Obito... well, in all honesty, he was a lot like you."

"So Obito was only a Uchiha by blood, not mind?"

"Yep. He was friendly, outgoing, and humble. He was also a total goofball. I see more of him in you than Sasuke. He also believed that teamwork was more important than anything."

"Well, that sucks. The one Uchiha I could have gotten along with, and I'll never meet him. I almost wish I could have seen the arguments between the two of you."

"The arguments were nothing special. I didn't really care about my teammates, so I ignored them at every opportunity," Kakashi hung his head. "I didn't even bother with team training sessions most of the time. I would train by myself, and sensei would have to find me and physically drag me to them."

"So what happened?"

"The war with Iwa happened. Obito, Rin, and I were sent on a mission. I was a jounin, and in charge of the mission. During it, Rin was captured. I was ready to abandon her, but Obito wanted to go after her. He called me an arrogant ass, told me that those who abandon their teammates were worse than trash, and took off to go rescue her. After a little bit, I went after him. We managed to rescue Rin, but were ambushed by Iwa ninja. I lost my left eye, and Obito activated his Sharingan for the first time, only to be crushed by a rockslide. Before he died, he had Rin take his left Sharingan eye and implant it in my left eye socket."

Kakashi was openly crying now, the first time Naruto had ever seen him do so.

"He died, and I never had the chance to tell him he was right, or how important he was to me. It makes me sick, thinking about all the times I insulted him and did things by myself. Even after all that, he still saw me as a friend. After that, I made it a personal mission to try and make amends by being the best shinobi I could be, and eventually pass on his beliefs to anyone I could. It's the reason I prefer the bell test, because in order to pass, you need to be willing to sacrifice your personal goals for the good of the team. I just wish I could have done something more to save him, or at least let him know he got through to me."

"He knew, Kakashi."

"Thanks for trying, but you're wrong. He never knew."

"Yes, he did. You said yourself that I'm a lot like Obito, so here's how I see it. The instant you turned back to go after him and Rin, he knew. If he hadn't gotten though to you, you would have left them both to die."

"He died anyway, so what good did it do? He died in vain." Naruto had never seen Kakashi this emotional. It was scary, to say the least.

"But if you hadn't gone with him, there's no guarantee he'd have even made it within sight of Rin, let alone save her. Instead, he died knowing that he saved her, and that he got through to you. He didn't die in vain, and he died relatively happy."

"What makes you think he died happy?"

"Both you and sensei have told me at some point that one of the greatest gifts any person can be given is the right to choose the circumstances of their death. He died on his terms, something a lot of people don't get the chance to do. I understand that you regret what you did and didn't do. That's normal. I also think it's great that you want to pass on what he believed. What I see you doing wrong, though, is that you're dwelling on the past, like sensei does sometimes. You have both taught me that when a mistake is made, you're supposed to learn from it, and move on. You've both learned from your mistakes, but neither of you are moving on. Why can't you follow your own advice?"

"You're right, and a lot of people have told us just that over the years. The thing is, guilt knows no logic but its own. It's why I'm trying so hard to get through to Sasuke, to repay my debt to Obito."

"No offense, but if you wanted to get through to him, you're a little too late. The best time to do it would have been right after Itachi killed everyone, when his avenger routine wasn't set in stone. Now, I don't know what it would take to knock some sense into him before he does something really stupid."

"Yes, but I can still try. There's always a chance he'll come around."

Naruto sat there and looked at Kakashi. It wasn't a glare or a stare, just an unflinching, penetrating gaze. It bugged the hell out of Kakashi, because the last time that look had been directed at him, it was coming from Minato-sensei. It was like his eyes were looking into his soul. Finally, Naruto spoke.

"You really shouldn't lie so much, Kakashi. Now you're lying to yourself and believing it."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You say you're helping Sasuke to honor Obito's memory. That's not what you really want. You want Sasuke to become a second Obito, and that's not going to happen, not without a bunch of mood-altering medications or a lobotomy. You don't see Obito in Sasuke, you see yourself. You want him to come to his senses, but not in the same way you did. My point is, Sasuke is not Obito, and he probably never will be.

"I'm going to go take a shower. If you want to talk about this some more, we can do it later, alright?"

Kakashi nodded mutely as Naruto headed to get the stuff for his shower. When he heard the water start running, he stood up and made his way over to his bookcase. He reached up to the top, where he kept some personal trinkets. His hand hovered over a small metal box, covered in dust. He pulled it down, and opened it to reveal the team photo of his genin team. Back then, he had wanted to skip the photo and train, but Minato had thrown him over his shoulder and taken him to join the rest of his team. His eyes started tearing up as he looked at it, though only his revealed eye showed it.

'_Is Naruto right, Obito? Am I trying to prevent Sasuke from making the same mistakes I made under the guise of repaying you? I know you regretted not having more time with us, but did you die happy?_

'_Minato-sensei, you would be proud of your son. He has the potential to take the title of the greatest shinobi ever to come from Konoha from you. He's also gained your ability to see what people are hiding, even from themselves, and can guess as to the real motivations of others. I still think that it's part of some hidden kekkai genkai you had and didn't know about. Unfortunately, he's got his mother's sense of tact, and he's about as subtle as a wrecking ball. Still, I think he'll do just fine._

'_Rin, what can I say? Before Obito died, I would blow you off, but in the end, you were really all I had left. After the war, Minato-sensei was busy with being prepared for the office of Hokage, but you were there whenever I needed you._

'_I miss all of you terribly, and I'm going to do my best to make sure that no team ever has to go through what ours did, for as long as I live._'

Kakashi put the picture away, and sat back down. He then began to cry, harder than he had in a very long time.

--

When Naruto came back out, he saw Kakashi drying his eyes.

"You okay, Kakashi?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. You just said some things that I needed to hear, but didn't want to."

"Oh. So, the Rookie of the Year, huh? Tell me, is that title really as important as people make it seem?"

"It depends. In the Academy, it's used as a motivator, to make the students work hard. Some see it as a goal to work towards, a sign of superior ability. To others, like you, the Aburame and Nara clans, and maybe Obito, it's something that hinders one's abilities as ninja. Two years ago, you said that you thought it was better for a ninja to be underestimated, to hide their true abilities. You have your opinions on how important it is, and they have theirs. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was doing some thinking in the shower, and I came up with three things that most Rookies of the Year seem to have in common. I'm not sure if they apply to everyone who got the title, but everyone I could think of had them in common."

"Okay, shoot. What are your three requirements for being Rookie of the Year?"

"First, they have to be arrogant. Second, they have to be as friendly as an iceberg. Third, they need to have a self-destructive obsession with some idea or goal."

"I get the first two, but you'll have to explain that last one."

"Well, you said that you were obsessed with the rules when you were the Rookie. With Sasuke, he's continually going on about 'gaining power'. Neji has this really bizarre attachment to fate, destiny, whatever."

"I see. Itachi was much like his brother, down to the 'gaining power' thing. Orochimaru, well he was always obsessing over learning new jutsu. It's really kind of frightening, now that you mention it. Although, someone could say that you have your own obsessions: ramen and becoming Hokage."

"How are those self-destructive? I love ramen, even though I've been told repeatedly that it's not good for me, and being Hokage is a life-long goal, and I'm getting closer to it very day."

"Alright, what would you do if you couldn't be Hokage? Suppose you had to choose between having a family of your own and being Hokage? Or if you suffered some injury that left you unable to continue as a ninja? We don't know if Kyuubi can regrow a lost limb. What would you do then?"

That stopped Naruto cold. "I...I...I don't know."

"Which is why I asked. You have your heart set on being Hokage, which is an admirable goal, but you don't have any plans other than that. It's good to think towards the future, but you also need to keep yourself in the present. That means having a backup plan."

"I'll... I'll give it some thought."

"Good. I believe we've reached our depression quota for a while, so let's change the subject, shall we? What's been going on while we've been gone?"

"Well, let's see. Haku and Ayame from Ichiraku's started going steady last week."

"Isn't she three or four years older than him? Way to go Haku!" Kakashi wiped away a fake tear. "I'm so proud of him."

"Yeah, well, she's 18, and as a shinobi, Haku's a legal adult. Teuchi thinks Haku's a great guy, and Zabuza was impressed when Ayame didn't seem to be afraid of him. Apparantly, she said that Zabuza couldn't be all bad, if he was responsible for Haku being the nice guy he is. He asked her to keep it a secret, because it could ruin his bad reputation."

Both Naruto and Kakashi got a chuckle out of that.

"Also, Hiashi's asked me to train with Hinata every once in a while. He thinks I'm a good influence on her." Naruto ignored Kakashi's snorts and continued. "They still don't know what's wrong with her Byakugan, so she's not allowed to use it except on missions or in a supervised spar with another Hyuuga present."

"So taijutsu training is out. You both have above average chakra control for your age and rank, so what's left?"

"We normally just do some physical training. We've also been working on breaking out of an enemy's grip lately. Stuff like getting out from under them if we're pinned down."

Due to Kakashi's mask, Naruto didn't see the evil smirk forming. He also didn't see Kakashi's question coming.

"So which do you like better? Her pinning you, or you pinning her?"

Naruto began flushing, stammering, "Wh-What a-are you ta-talking about?"

Now he saw the smirk, complete with eye smile. "Oh, you know what I mean. Do you like it better when she's on top, or when you are?"

Naruto gaped, trying to come up with an answer that didn't make him sound like a pervert. Kakashi's gaze wandered over to the box with his team photo in it.

'_Minato-sensei, it should be you, not me, teasing your son about this. But since you can't be here to do it, I'm more than glad to._'

-- -

AN: I've been getting a lot of Private Messages lately, asking me for a chapter where Naruto makes Kakashi face his past. I hope I didn't disappoint. I'm pretty sure this is why he acted the way he did in canon. But hey, I've been wrong before.

As much as I (and probably a lot of you) want Naruto to use Lethe on Sasuke, Orochimaru, and Akatsuki and be done with it, I can't do it. (And believe me, I REALLY want to do it.)

-- -

Next time: Observations and Preparations


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. To be honest, I'm not sure I'd want to right now.

**Rivers of Hades**

_Chapter 13_

It was three in the afternoon, and Naruto was sitting on a park bench, watching the people pass by. There was a council meeting today, and Sarutobi was required to be there, so his training had ended early. He didn't want to go home just yet, and everyone else would be still training with their team.

Kakashi was still teasing him mercilessly about him "wrestling" with Hinata. Naruto could tolerate the teasing to an extent, but Kakashi's suggestions for what "moves" or "holds" he should pull next were a bit too much.

His sitting and watching the crowd was rapidly turning into a new hobby for him. He had started doing it as a training exercise. At first, he had been less than thrilled than his new exercise involved a lot of sitting, but after Sarutobi had explained the purpose, he regained a little interest. It was supposed to build up his observational skills.

Sarutobi had demonstrated by selecting a random couple, who had been looking into the window of a formal clothing store, and began making several guesses into aspects of their personalities and lives. He also estimated that the two had been together for over three years, and had recently become engaged. Naruto asked how he had come up with that. Sarutobi replied that they were holding on to each other, which suggested a relationship. The length of the relationship came from how they were holding each other. Newer couples would tend to cling tightly to one another. The two were close together, but held each other loosely. When Naruto asked about the engagement, Sarutobi replied that neither of them was wearing a wedding ring, so they were most likely not married. They were also looking at the window display, which was showcasing garments for weddings.

Since then, Naruto often found himself observing people around him as a way to kill free time. He was so caught up in it that he almost didn't hear the person approaching him.

"Ah, Naruto-kun, would it be alright if I joined you?"

"Go right ahead, Haku. How's the Academy?"

"It's a wonderful experience. Umino-san is amazingly easy-going, though he says it has something to do with you not disrupting his classes anymore."

Naruto laughed. "Good ol' Iruka-sensei. I should really pay him a visit one of these days. Things have been way too easy for him, now that I'm not there to spice up his duller lectures. I still have yet to figure out how he managed to get me back afterwards, though. So, how have you been adjusting to life in Konoha? I know how Zabuza is doing, but I haven't had a chance to talk to you in a while."

"I'm grateful to be here. Everyone, shinobi and civilians alike, have just been remarkably welcoming. Although, I now understand why you feel the way you do about abusing a kekkai genkai. Hokage-sama told me that after the current Academy semester is complete, I will be eligible for missions, if I choose. Somehow, word got out, and ever since, some of the villagers have come up to me saying that with my kekkai genkai, missions are going to be easy, as if my abilities with ice are the only reason I'm a competent ninja."

"Well, we both know that isn't true. I've seen you training. Now that you and Zabuza aren't on the run, you've gotten to the point where you could probably take the Jounin Exam and pass without once using it. As for the villagers, that's what they are used to saying to someone with a kekkai genkai. The clans have always taken a large amount of pride in their unique abilities, and I don't have a problem with that. Ignoring something that can give you an advantage is just stupid. Where I draw the line is when they focus so much on that unique ability that they end up ignoring everything else. You just haven't shown the villagers that you don't share the same viewpoint as the clans do. But besides that, what do you think of Konoha?"

"It... is a wonderful place. Zabuza-sama had told me that Konoha shinobi were considered odd by the standards of other villages. I just assumed he meant their continual above-average abilities. It wasn't until we came to live here that I learned what he meant. In every other shinobi village I have ever heard of, shinobi are cold, emotionless tools, regardless of whether they are on a mission or not. Here, that is only partly true. On assignment, we are professionals, as we should be, but off-duty, most act just like any other villager. We are shinobi, but we are also human. I find that attitude most appealing. It is nice being allowed, if not encouraged, to have a life outside of our work. I am curious, however, about the Yamanaka clan and their flower shop. I don't quite understand why they would have two jobs, especially ones so different."

Naruto laughed. "Yeah, I thought the same thing when I first met Ino at the Academy. She beat me to a pulp when I asked her if she was only going to be a part-time ninja. Sensei told me the story behind it. Back when Konoha was first founded, there was a lot of construction work going on. Gardens of any sort were hard to find. The fields used by the original settlers were turned into building sites and some of the older training grounds. The catch was, gardens were needed to grow the plants we use for poisons and medicines, not to mention food. It was eventually decided that a greenhouse would be built, and it would grow those plants until personal gardens larger than a window-box were an option. At the time, the Yamanaka clan didn't have many duties vital to the village, so they were put in charge of the greenhouse. Once things calmed down, and personal gardens started appearing, they decided to make a little money, and opened a shop that sold flowers and gardening supplies, in addition to still growing large amounts of the shinobi plants."

"But why would people grow their own poisonous and medicinal plants when there is still the communal greenhouse?"

"Because with the exception of the hospital, there are limits on how many plants can be taken for use by any one person. You can only take so many plants per month. The hospital can take as much as it wants, whenever it wants."

"So, with that kind of background, would that mean that your classmate Ino is knowledgeable with poisons?"

"You know, I'm not really sure. She never showed any signs of skill with them, but that stuff wasn't really covered in depth in the Academy when I was there. I am sure, however, that she would at least know which kinds of plants are poisonous and which aren't."

Haku nodded. "I see. I have a question for you. This is coming from both myself and Ayame-chan."

"Okay, shoot."

"Would you and Hinata-san be interested in going on a double date with us some time?"

Naruto blinked. "I wasn't expecting that one. What brought this on?"

"Ayame-chan feels that the two of you make, and I quote, 'such a cute couple!'. I haven't seen how the two of you get along, but I am willing to take her word on it."

"I... I'll ask Hinata-chan the next time I see her, but I'm not promising anything."

"That is all we ask."

"So what hobbies have you and Zabuza taken up in your free time?"

Haku chuckled. "Both of us are still trying to find ones that suit us. I had actually thought about trying to make decorative ice sculptures at first. Obviously, making the ice wasn't a problem for me, but as it turns out, I am a terrible sculptor, and I don't have enough time to learn how to do it properly. Eventually, I lost my temper, and turned what I had created into ice cubes. That act was actually very therapeutic."

"You enjoy destroying what you made? Well, whatever works for you, I guess. What about Zabuza?"

"Zabuza-sama is having a much tougher time with acclimating to our new way of life, let alone finding himself a hobby. So far, the best he's managed to do is play darts at a bar when he's off-duty. I'm of the opinion that the only reason he can even do that much right now is that he's equating playing darts with projectile weapons training."

"I'm sure you'll both find something..." Naruto heard something, and looked up. A messenger bird was flying overhead. It dropped a letter into Naruto's lap, turned around, and flew back the way it came. "Huh? Looks like sensei wants to talk to me about something before his meeting. Talk to you later, Haku."

"Good day, Naruto-kun."

--

"You wanted to see me, sensei?"

"Yes, yes I did. The council meeting was rescheduled for tomorrow afternoon. I called you back to talk to you about the upcoming Chuunin Exams and your place in them."

Naruto's face lit up. "You're nominating me? Thanks, sensei! You're the greatest!"

Sarutobi sighed. "Naruto-kun, you've gotten ahead of yourself. I cannot enter you because there aren't two free genin to take the test with you, and I couldn't bend the rules enough for you to take it solo without having to deal with the backlash from the other villages."

The smile dimmed. "Then, what did you want to talk to me about the Chuunin Exams for? Just to tell me I can't take them? If I can't take the exams, then I can't get promoted."

"You're only partially correct. You can't take them, but the Chuunin Exams aren't the only way to get promoted. There are alternatives."

"Then why doesn't anyone talk about them? If you ask genin, the only promotion method they know about are the Exams."

"The reason is simple. We want genin to take the Exams and try for promotion that way at least once before we let them find out about the alternate routes. It's good for the village."

"Huh?"

"The Chuunin Exams showcase the best each participating village has to offer in front of potential clients. The alternate routes do not attract new clients to the village. That is one reason. There is also the money brought into the village by both those taking the Exams and the people who come to see the Exams. They pay for food, lodging, admission to the Exams, and possibly do some shopping while they are here. That influx of money is why the location of the Chuunin Exams is fought over each time it is held."

"So, are you putting me on one of the alternate paths, then?"

"Yes, I am. You will be assigned an acting-chuunin mission that closely relates to the upcoming Exams. It will begin before the Exams start, and will end after they do. Like the Exams, your mission will have three parts to it. Successfully complete two of those three parts, and you will be given full chuunin status."

Naruto's interest rose. "Can you tell me what the three parts are now, or do I need to wait until later?"

Sarutobi pulled out a map of the Elemental Countries, while Naruto pulled out a notebook. "I see no reason why I can't. Some of the foreign participants will be meeting at an outpost at the borders of Hi no Kuni," Sarutobi pointed to a specific outpost, and Naruto noted it. "The first portion of your mission will be to go there and escort the foreign shinobi to Konoha. Successful completion will be all foreign shinobi arriving safely, though exceptions can be made for extenuating circumstances."

"That's a lot to ask of one person, sensei."

"You misunderstand. I fully expect that the teams will be able to defend themselves in an attack. If they aren't, they shouldn't be taking the Exams. Your responsibility is to guide them to Konoha. Should they choose to fight amongst themselves, that is not your problem. Each sensei is responsible for their team's behavior.

"Anyway, the second portion will be you helping myself, Iruka, and a handful of others oversee and administrate the Exams. You won't have a role in proctoring any of the three parts. You will be working behind the scenes to make sure everything is running as smoothly as possible. Success here is simply how you perform at what tasks are assigned to you.

"The third and final part is rather straight-forward. You will serve as an alternate for the third portion of the Exams. If there are an uneven number of contestants, or if someone fails to appear, you will take that place. I thought it would be good for you to see how you stand in comparison to the others. Now then, do you believe you can handle this, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto looked over his notes for what he would have to do. "Well, it's a lot for one person, but I think I can handle it. I do have one question, though."

"By all means, ask."

"How could you arrange a mission like this for me? I know that you are in charge of this kind of stuff, but how can you put all this together without anyone making a fuss?"

"By following standard procedure," Sarutobi replied, pulling a piece of paper from a desk drawer. "To request an acting-rank mission, this form must be filled out. It requires the signatures of two shinobi of jounin rank, along with mine. If a request is approved and the mission is a failure, there is a mandatory waiting period of a year before you can request another. I have your form filled out for you. All you have to do is sign this, and the mission is yours."

"That doesn't sound so hard."

"Finding the two jounin sponsors is easy. The hard part is getting my permission. Each month, a good fifteen to twenty percent of my paperwork is made up of these requests. Out of all of them, less than half get approved."

"So who sponsored me? Let's see... Hyuuga Hiashi and... Aburame Shibi? Isn't that Shino's dad? Why would he sponsor me?"

Sarutobi smiled. "Ah, that's right. You wouldn't remember."

"Huh? Remember what?"

"When you were a baby, things were very chaotic. I had tried keeping you in my sight at all times, but I couldn't do it. Even then, you were a handful. Then, the Aburame clan stepped in. They would watch you during the day, and you would stay with me and my family at night. This continued until you were sixteen months old, I believe. At that point, I put you in the orphanage system."

"Why would they volunteer to look after me?"

"The Aburame have always seen you as something of a distant relative. Like you, they are not always warmly welcomed, and the villagers tend to confuse them with their tenants as well. The main difference is that there are many of them, and only one of you."

"Yeah, but their tenants didn't nearly destroy the village and kill everyone."

"True, but that isn't to say it hasn't happened on a smaller scale."

"What?"

"For the Aburame, emotional control is a must. Their colonies respond to the host's commands. If a host feels emotion, the Kikai respond to that as well. Should an Aburame give in to anger, their colonies will lash out and attack the cause of that anger. It doesn't even have to be anger, any emotion will suffice. I remember about twenty or thirty years ago, some village children decided to see if an Aburame was ticklish. They succeeded, and spent the next two weeks recovering from what had happened. Their target began laughing, lost control, and his Kikai attacked, nearly killing them."

"So they were willing to look after me because we had a lot in common."

"Yes. Around your first birthday, Shibi came to me asking for permission to adopt you. It killed me to say no, but..."

"The Yondaime's orders, I know."

"Shibi was most displeased. He asked why I was acting contrary to my normal stance, which was to seek as much protection for you as I could. I tried to convince him I knew what I was doing, but he didn't let up. So, I took a calculated risk, and showed him the Yondaime's letter of instructions. To this day, he is the only other person besides me and Yondaime to see the letter in its entirety. After that, he was more understanding of my position, and promised to support me in matters regarding you to the best of his ability."

"Wouldn't he have seen the part about who Yondaime wanted to take care of me?"

"No. An Aburame would have been among the last to see that."

"Why?"

"As a shinobi and a role model, there were few better suited for the office of Hokage than the Yondaime. However, his skills as a writer, speaker and administrator were average at best, and that is being nice. He knew what he wanted to say, but often couldn't find the right words. He had a very strong tendency to put his foot in his mouth at the worst possible time, though that trait disappeared as he got older. If it weren't for his sensei, Jiraiya, writing his speeches, and myself, working with him on his administrative skills, he would have destroyed the village on his own well before the Kyuubi."

"Why does that mean Shino's dad wouldn't see it?"

"If one were to read the letter, not knowing Yondaime personally, it sounds as if Kakashi, Jiraiya, and I were the only people in all of Konoha he trusted. That was how I interpreted it for ten years, though something always seemed off about that statement. It wasn't until I read it again, two years ago, knowing how he thought that I saw what he had meant to write, that the three of us were the only ones in Konoha he trusted to take care of you. Shibi didn't know Yondaime very well. Besides, the traditional Aburame mindset makes them poorly suited for mental profiling."

"So he sponsored me for this because his clan sees me as family? No offense, but that doesn't sound like an Aburame. The logical reason is missing."

"He also said it was his way of saying 'thank you'. Apparently, you said something to Shino on that joint C-Rank."

"Yeah, we were talking about how to broaden our skill sets. He commented that the constant chakra drain meant he couldn't use most nin- or genjutsu. I pointed out that there were other things he could work on. He said he'd think about it."

"Gave him the family diatribe, eh? Well, he did think about it. Shibi said that Shino is now poised to become the most powerful Aburame of his generation, if not in recent history. He's been working with techniques that the Aburame have not used in generations, and not just some of their more powerful clan techniques. Some of them, I haven't seen since I was your age."

"Well, I'll have to thank Shino's dad anyway. Here you go, sensei." Naruto signed the form and handed it back to Sarutobi, who was smiling.

"You know, I'm still not used to you calling me sensei."

"Well, yeah. Ten years of 'oji-san' compared to about six months of 'sensei'."

"Have a good day, Naruto-kun."

"You too, sensei."

After Naruto left, Sarutobi turned around to look at the vault with the other half of Naruto's inheritance inside. Every day, he was tempted to just give the scroll to Naruto and be done with it. He wasn't sure what kept him from doing so, other than his respect for the Yondaime's wishes. After a couple minutes, he stood, put his hat on, and walked out the door. He had been set free early today, and he'd be damned if he was going to stick around and risk them finding something for him to do. He was going home.

-- -

Next Time: The Dangers of Traveling with Gaara


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Oh, crap! I forgot the disclaimer! How will I tell anyone I don't own Naruto?!

**Rivers of Hades**

_Chapter 14_

'_Two more days, and I'll be back in Konoha._'

Naruto was in the middle of unpacking what he would need for the night, surrounded by the members of the group he was escorting doing the same. As he did so, he let his mind wander.

The week before Naruto had left had been unusual for him. With the village getting prepared for the Exams, Naruto had found himself with more free time than he could handle. The entire week, he hadn't trained with Sarutobi, Gai, or Zabuza. Sarutobi was dealing with organizing the whole ordeal. Gai had stepped up his team's training, so he was probably thinking of nominating them for the Exam. Zabuza had simply told Naruto that he was going to be too busy to work with him for a while.

One day, he had wandered over to the Academy around lunchtime. There, he ran into Iruka and Haku. When they found out he had nothing to do, they asked him to stick around and help with the class. He also learned just why Zabuza was planning on being so busy. He and Haku had both been tapped to help proctor the Exams. Haku had been permitted to do his Hunter-nin routine during the first part, eliminating obvious cheaters. Zabuza would be working on the second and third parts. He was currently touring the Forest of Death with the other proctors for the second part, getting acquainted with it. Haku said he had never seen Zabuza so... giddy.

Sarutobi had told Naruto what the three parts entailed, then told him not to talk about it with anyone who wouldn't already know. Basically, he wasn't supposed to tell any of his fellow genin.

The three kept talking for the rest of the lunch break. When the students returned, some of them recognized Naruto as being the Hokage's apprentice, and were suitably awed. The class went outside for some practical work. Once outside, the students swarmed Naruto, asking him to show them a jutsu. With Iruka's permission, Naruto performed some of the most basic jutsu he had learned, beyond the ones from the Academy.

The highlight of his performance came when a Suiton jutsu went awry, soaking Iruka. The students received an impromptu lesson in not judging how good someone was based only on who their teacher was. Naruto ran from the sopping wet Iruka, and even though he had been training with some of the best shinobi in the village, Iruka still managed to catch up with Naruto, hog-tie him, and drag him back to the training area, where Iruka posed with his captive, looking very much like a hunter displaying his kill. Amusement was had at Naruto's expense.

He and Hinata had gone on the double date, and Naruto couldn't deny that it was one of the best decisions he had ever made. The four of them had gone on a picnic. At the time, Naruto had still been a little dazed by the smile Hinata gave him when he clumsily asked her about it. Having Ayame and Haku there was a good thing, not only because it was their idea, but because it kept the atmosphere light and fun. It had been strange for Naruto to see how well Haku and Ayame got along, as parts of it resembled how he and Hinata interacted. Maybe he really did care for Hinata as more than a friend...

Naruto shook his head vigorously. '_Now is not the time for this. I'm on a mission._'

So far, his escort mission had been rather nerve-wracking. It was his first solo mission outside the village, and he was determined not to screw it up.

When he had arrived at the outpost, some of the jounin-sensei had expressed annoyance at his presence. They were annoyed that only one escort had been sent, and that said escort was a rookie genin, younger than most, if not all, of those he would be escorting. That changed slightly when a jounin had asked to see the papers identifying Naruto as their escort. He read through them, and couldn't contain his shock when he saw. He, like the others, had seen Naruto's role as their escort as a veiled insult to them, that they weren't worth Konoha sending a more experienced guide. When the jounin read the part listing the Sandaime Hokage as being Naruto's sensei, however, he couldn't keep it to himself. As a result, everyone was staring at Naruto, gauging him. Once they were satisfied that they hadn't been slighted after all, they started heading for Konoha.

Naruto's group was of small to moderate size. The teams came from Kusa and Suna, with Suna in the majority. Teams from other countries would be escorted by other Konoha shinobi. One Suna team, however, kept attracting his attention, and he wasn't sure why. From what he could figure out, the three genin were siblings. All three of them were carrying different objects on their backs, and for the life of him, Naruto couldn't figure out what they were. All he knew was that whatever the older boy was carrying, it had moving parts, if the clacking noises were anything to go by.

That said, Naruto couldn't help but laugh internally at the older shinobi's choice of wardrobe. The face paint was bad enough, but a black jumpsuit? Naruto had made his fair share of dumb decisions, but wearing a full-body black jumpsuit in the desert wasn't going to be one of them if he could help it. Of course, the cat ears the hood created didn't really help make the get-up any more intimidating, either. How could he possibly do anything without passing out from the heat?

The oldest member, a kunoichi, whose name had been revealed as Temari, was unnerving to Naruto. Temari was very self-confident, and it showed. There was just something about her that made it nearly impossible for Naruto to not look at her. Maybe it was the fact that she had a personality similar to his, or maybe it was because like him, she was a blue-eyed blond.

The last genin simply creeped the hell out of Naruto. When Naruto had first arrived at the outpost, the redhead's eyes widened, and he began clutching his head, muttering under his breath. Ever since, the genin had been eying him with a look that was almost... hungry.

The trio's sensei walked up to him. "Uzumaki-san, the other jounin and I have put together tonight's watch schedule. Is there anything we should know about?"

"Um, yeah. I'll be having some **Kage Bunshin** doing some chakra control exercises for a while. Tree walking, about twenty, maybe thirty feet away from the center of camp, so I don't disturb anyone."

One problem Naruto would always have in his shinobi career was his chakra control. Sarutobi had hypothesized that due to the Kyuubi's presence in Naruto, his chakra coils were extremely malleable. Any exercise that would build his chakra reserves would end up having double or even triple the intended effect. Even if he never used chakra in a training session, his coils still increased in size daily. As a result, his control would plummet if he went too long without control exercises. So, when his group stopped for the night, he sent his clones off to perform control exercises with whatever they could find.

The first time he had done so, the others had asked him about it. He passed it off as a medical condition, one he had since birth, which was true enough. Nothing life-threatening, it just shot his chakra control to hell if he neglected it. They seemed to accept it, and had asked only that he let them know when he was going to send his clones out. Apparently, the fact that he knew **Kage Bunshin** had been written off as a result of his being a Kage's student. While normally Naruto would have corrected them, this time, he let them think that. Deception was a ninja's greatest tool, and what better deception than letting others jump to conclusions?

The jounin, Baki, nodded and turned to go inform the others, when a thought struck him.

"Uzumaki-san, has my student Gaara... has he done anything to you?"

"Gaara? Oh, the one with the gourd. Nah, he hasn't done much that I've noticed, outside of watching me like a hawk and making a lot of comments about wanting my blood."

"Trust me, if he had done anything to you, you would know it. I would advise you to tread carefully around him. He's not exactly stable."

"I'll keep that in mind, though I don't understand why you are giving me the warning."

"It's simple. Without you, none of us can enter the village for the Exams. Therefore, it is in the best interest to all of us that you arrive at the village alive and well."

"Fair enough. So when is my shift for guard duty?"

"Ten 'til two."

--

It was around midnight, and Naruto was in the middle of his guard shift, hidden in the trees. Off in the distance, he heard the sounds of his clones performing control exercises. When he heard rustling near him, he tensed.

"Who's there?"

"Uzumaki-san..." Gaara appeared on a nearby branch, his eyes burning into Naruto.

"Gaara-san, what is it?"

"My mother... my mother calls for your BLOOD!"

Sand shot out of the gourd on Gaara's back, headed directly for Naruto. Only a quick **Kawarimi** saved Naruto from collision with the sand, which arced suddenly, changing direction towards Naruto's new location.

'_So that's what he's been carrying. That much sand's gotta weigh a ton, but he hauls it around like it __isn't even there. And how the hell is he making it attack me? I haven't seen him make a single hand seal._'

Naruto's musing cost him. The sand had almost caught him when he snapped out of it and used **Kawarimi** again, the sand narrowly missing him. The sand impacted with the tree he had been on, uprooting it and sending it to the ground. The resulting noise woke the rest of the camp, if the shouting was any indication. Naruto began trying to lead Gaara further away from the camp.

Baki was the first to arrive on the scene, Temari and Kankurou on his heels. "What the hell is going on here? Gaara? Oh shit!"

Kankurou called out, "Oi, blondie! What did you do to make Gaara attack?"

"Hell if I know! I was just... Crap! **Kawarimi**! I was on guard duty, and he comes out of nowhere, saying his 'mother' wants my blood and attacks me. I don't even know your mother!"

An annoyed grunt came out of Temari's mouth, as the others began making their way to see what was creating such a commotion. "For Kami's sake, fight back! It's your only hope, although you still won't stand a chance against Gaara."

"I'm under orders not to attack any of you, for any reason! Uh oh... WAUUGHH!"

Gaara's sand had caught up to Naruto, hitting him square in the chest and sending him backwards. He was sent bodily through several trees that were behind him. He landed on the ground, more sand coming at him.

"**Sabaku Kyuu**," Gaara hissed. Sand was now covering the majority of Naruto's body, and spreading quickly. "Now you will die!"

"Gaara, stop! You kill him, and none of us will be able to take the Chuunin Exams! Not to mention what could happen when the Hokage finds out his student was killed by someone he was escorting!"

"Silence! None of you can stop me. I will have his blood!"

Naruto was now solidly encased from the waist down. His upper body still had some range of movement, but was losing it as time passed.

'_Crap! I can't move my arms or fingers enough for a jutsu. I've only got one chance. Here's hoping I really am strong enough to use this, because this definitely qualifies as a life-threatening situation._'

"Hey, psycho! Let me go, or you'll regret it!"

Gaara growled at being called 'psycho'. "You will die. I had hoped for more of a challenge from the student of one of the strongest shinobi alive. It's a pity."

"**Uzumaki Hijutsu: Yomi no Ookawa: Acheron**!" Twin torrents of water surged from Naruto's hands. As they headed for their target, Naruto watched the jutsu in action. Physically, the water showed no signs of being any different from normal water, but Naruto couldn't really see it in the dark. What was different was the sound it made. As the water raced through the air, its wake sounded like people wailing and crying. It was enough to send shivers down the spine of everyone present, though for Gaara shivered for a different reason.

Then the jutsu hit him.

--

The world faded to black around Gaara. He could neither see nor hear anything around him. Then, he found himself back in Suna. In front of him was himself as a little child, crying as his uncle, Yashamaru, began trying to kill him. Despite Gaara's current attitude, he did not want to watch this. It brought up things he had repressed successfully for years. Unfortunately, he could not turn away. If he turned, he found himself still facing the scene, which continued uninterrupted in front of him.

After that scene ended, another began. This time, showing Kankurou and Temari trying to talk to him, followed by him scaring them away. The next showed them trying to get him to come play with them, only to meet with the same result. Several similar scenes played, each showing more time had passed in between.

The images continued, and it was quickly becoming too much for Gaara. Had he faced the images one by one, he wouldn't have cared at all. But starting with Yashamaru and showing Gaara the 'highlights' of his life without end was overpowering him, and he began tearing up.

Then the scenery changed drastically. He was no longer anywhere he knew, but if he had to guess, he was in Konoha, judging by the greenery. From the decorations, there was a festival going on. Then he saw what looked like a younger version of their guide run past, followed by what appeared to be a mob composed mainly of intoxicated villagers. The boy was unable to escape, and when the mob was broken up by ANBU and a man who must have been the Hokage, he was in very bad shape. Gaara shifted uncomfortably. The villagers of Suna had occasionally tried the same thing with him, only to be stopped by the sand. This boy however, had no such defense.

Now the scenes featured younger versions of their guide, Uzumaki. He would try to participate in normal activities, such as playing in a park, only to be chased away or left out. One thing that struck Gaara was how the villagers referred to Naruto as 'demon', which was how Suna's populace referred to him.

'_Could it be that he... is he like me?_'

With that, the dam burst, and Gaara began to cry for the first time since his uncle died.

--

When Naruto's jutsu had connected, Gaara's sand had gone haywire, destroying everything it could. The sand encasing Naruto had dispersed, joining the rest of it in causing mass destruction, and leaving Naruto on the ground, gasping for breath. Baki, Temari, and Kankurou were alright, experience with Gaara giving them the ability to dodge safely. In the background, they heard the other jounin telling their teams to stay within the camp.

Suddenly, the sand stopped causing damage, instead just whipping about wildly, as if it was caught in the wind. Then, they heard crying. When they looked for the source, they found to their great surprise, Gaara, crying like someone half his age. They looked at each other, unsure of what had happened to him or what to do.

Kankurou gaped. "He's crying, actually crying. What the hell's going on here?"

"What kind of jutsu could have brought _Gaara_ to tears?" Baki was stunned. If this boy, Naruto, could affect someone the likes of Gaara...

"You... you might want to go over to him. He really needs you right now."

The three Suna nin turned. Naruto had drug himself over to rest against a tree that was still in one piece, more or less.

Baki turned back to his two students. "Go see to Gaara. I'll tend to our escort."

Walking over, Baki quickly gave Naruto a once-over. "Well, you're pretty beat up. On the other hand, you're still alive and in one piece, which is nothing short of amazing. I do believe that you are the first person to fight Gaara and live to tell."

"Should I be honored?"

"I suppose you should. As I said, you are the first person to survive a fight against him. Even the Kazekage is wary of dealing with him. That said, what the hell did you do to him?"

"Imagine the worst moments in your life being played back to back without end. Memories you never wanted to see the light of day ever again. That is what I did to him."

"He's a Suna shinobi. Such a jutsu shouldn't affect him."

"Baki-san, that may be true, but he is still human. Has someone you deeply cared for ever died in front of you? Not just comrades, I'm talking family too."

"Of course that has happened to me. I was with my father and grandfather when they died of combat injuries. My grandmother died about four months later, and I was there for that as well. I was about eight."

"Well, you would have seen them dying in front of you once more, and yourself back then. The jutsu shows you every moment in your life that would cause you to feel sorrow and regret. Contact with the water alone weakens your mental defenses, making you more vulnerable to the memories."

"Well, if you put it that way, I don't think I would be able to stand it, either. Part of the shinobi lifestyle leads to having a lot of unpleasant memories. On their own, each one could be dealt with, but seeing your life play out in front of you like that can't be good."

Hearing muffled cries, the two turn to look at the siblings. Gaara had Temari and Kankurou in a bone-crushing hug and was crying, while repeating what sounded like 'I'm sorry'. Both elder siblings were alternating between fearing for their lives and the instinct to comfort their brother.

"Kid, let's leave them be. I'll take you back to camp, and then I'll finish up your watch shift."

--

The next morning was rather awkward. The group broke camp around noon, to allow Naruto to recover and so the older two of Baki's students could get some sleep. Apparently, they had both spent the night up with Gaara. Naruto wasn't sure what Baki had told everyone about what had happened, but the other Suna nin seemed to know what had really occurred.

As Naruto walked along, his thoughts drifted back to last night. Something odd had happened when he struck Gaara with the River. He had seen the same things Gaara had, and Naruto wasn't sure that should have happened. In everything he had read about the Acheron, no mention was ever made about the user and the target sharing memories. Was it something that they just didn't talk about, or did it have to do with him?

'_Man, what I wouldn't give to talk to someone who knew, really knew, how these Rivers work._'

"Uzumaki-san," came a voice from behind him. Turning, he saw Gaara.

"What can I do for you three?" Naruto was on guard.

"I... wish to speak to you about what happened last night."

"Alright. What do you want to talk about?"

"Under the effects of your jutsu, I... saw some things. Is there any truth to what I saw?"

"I could say no, but I'd be lying. I also saw parts of your life, and I know we have quite a bit in common."

"Perhaps we do, even more than you think. I, too, carry a demon within me, the Ichibi no Shukaku." Naruto's eyes widened.

"Well, I'll be. You're right, we do have more in common than I thought, only mine's...

"Kyuubi no Kitsune, if your village's history is anything to go by." Gaara finished.

"Yeah. I was born the day of the attack. Yondaime sealed it into me and lost his life in the process."

"But your Yondaime is supposed to have killed the Kyuubi."

"If the least of the Bijuu, the Shukaku, couldn't be defeated, only sealed away, how could the Kyuubi?"

"I take it that the Kyuubi is your 'medical condition', then?"

"Yeah. Sensei passed a law forbidding most everyone from speaking the truth, on penalty of death. The only people who can speak about it are myself, the active Hokage, and anyone I allow. Kyuubi's 'death' is reality for everyone who wasn't there during the attack or was too young to know what really went on."

"Tell me, how does your village see you? Do they regard you as a hero for what happened?"

"Hardly. To most of the village, I'm little more than a nuisance that has to be tolerated. Even to the people whose opinions really matter to me, I'm still not a hero. They see me for who I am, Uzumaki Naruto, a twelve year old genin who wants to be Hokage. I'm no hero, and I don't really want to be seen as one, not unless I've done something deserving of it."

"What I carry was never a secret. Everyone in Suna knows and fears me for it."

"Why was Shukaku sealed into you? Was it attacking Suna?"

"No. Before it was sealed into me, Shukaku had spent several decades sealed in a teapot. For a while now, Suna has been losing funding and missions to other villages. As a result, our forces are about the same size as most minor villages, but our quality is consistent with a major village. Suna needed a weapon, an invincible shinobi. On the Kazekage's order, Shukaku was sealed into me before I was born. It is strange. Both you and I were created out of desperation, though situations were different. I never expected to find another like myself. I thought I was alone in this world."

"I can see where you would feel like that. Still, you had a brother and sister who wanted you around. Why did you push them away?"

"The first person you saw try to kill me last night was my uncle. He took care of me for the first six years of my life before that night. After that, I was convinced that Temari and Kankurou would do the same if I let them get too close."

The group continued towards Konoha, Gaara and Naruto discussing their lives.

--

Back in Konoha, Sarutobi was in his office, taking a break to eat lunch, when his receptionist knocked on the door.

"Hokage-sama, Hyuuga Hiashi wishes to speak with you."

"Send him in."

Hiashi walked in, bowing to Sarutobi.

"Sandaime-sama."

"Hiashi-san. Please, sit down. I hope you don't mind if I eat my lunch while we talk. If I don't eat now, I won't get another chance until this evening."

"It is no bother, Hokage-sama. Thank you for seeing me on such short notice."

"As you said, it is no bother. Now, what can I do for you?"

"It has to do with your student. I have some concerns involving him I wish to speak with you about."

Sarutobi set down his lunch. So much for a light, informal chat. "Hiashi, you of all people should be able to recognize..."

"Hokage-sama, I am well aware that the boy is not his tenant. Had I ever felt otherwise, I would have taken measures to keep him away from my daughter."

"Then what is your problem with him?"

"I do not have a problem with Uzumaki-san. My concern is with the Yondaime's seal."

"Please, continue."

"The Yondaime was amazing with seals, I am not arguing with that. However, he was in a hurry when he designed that seal, and in even more of one when it was applied to Naruto-kun. He knew what he was doing, but he was still human, and capable of making a mistake, especially under pressure."

Sarutobi replied gruffly. "The Yondaime's seal has held for almost thirteen years now. The Kyuubi is not going to escape. Why do you bring this up now?"

"Just because something has not happened yet does not mean it will never happen. We both know that as seals age, they become unstable unless maintained. To my knowledge, Naruto's seal has never been looked at in any great depth by a seal master. For a seal as important as Naruto-kun's that is unacceptable."

Sarutobi sighed. "I see your point. What you say is true, and you backed your argument logically. I don't know why I never thought of it myself."

"Perhaps it is because you are too close to the boy. The village at large sees the prisoner instead of the prison. You are at the other extreme, seeing the boy and choosing to ignore the tenant's presence."

"An argument I have heard more than once. Where do you place yourself, then, Hiashi?"

"I like to think of myself as being somewhere in between. I see the boy, but also recognize the danger he contains within."

"Very well. I will send for Jiraiya. It is my understanding that Yondaime gave him some special scrolls specifically for maintenance on that seal. Do you find that satisfactory?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. Thank you for listening."

"Yes, well, thank you for coming to see me in private, instead of bringing the issue up in a council meeting. Kami only knows what could have happened."

"You're welcome. Could you tell me how young Uzumaki-san's training coming along?"

"Why the sudden interest in my apprentice?"

"My daughter believes him to be worth her time. I merely wish to understand him better, so that I might come to an informed opinion of my own on whether or not he would be good for my daughter."

Sarutobi arched an eyebrow. "And the real reason?"

"You wound me, Hokage-sama. That was my real reason, though I will admit to being curious about the shinobi who is currently the front-runner for being named your successor."

"To be honest, I'm not sure what he is truly capable of. As far as I know, he is the first person to ever be trained to lead a ninja village before taking office. Everyone else has learned through trial and error."

"Will he be a capable leader, should he make it?"

"He knows how to handle the daily routine, but he has yet to experience the truly difficult duties of this job first-hand," Sarutobi paused, then smirked, "I have a sneaking suspicion that one of his first acts as Hokage will be to delegate some, if not all, of the more mundane duties to others. I doubt he would be able to stand being in here all day, every day."

"With all due respect, you two are alike in that respect. Why didn't you delegate your duties to others yourself?"

"I wanted to avoid creating too much of a bureaucracy. The last time I delegated any authority for an extended period of time was when I allowed the council to set the Academy standards, and we wound up undoing those changes."

"Yes. I recall doing tree-climbing when I was in the Academy. Hinata knew it when she graduated, but only because I taught it to her."

"Naruto-kun's shinobi training is moving rapidly, especially for having only half as much time to train as his classmates. He is turning out to be a very well-rounded ninja, which is a source of both joy and annoyance for anyone teaching him."

"Annoyance? How so?"

"Normally, when a shinobi reaches chuunin, they have already begun work in their field of specialty. Naruto is so balanced in most things, he has no idea what to specialize in. The only things we've managed to eliminate are genjutsu and medicine. Fuinjutsu is a weak point, but since the only things he's been taught to make are storage scrolls and exploding tags, that's understandable."

"I take it, then, that the normal methods are not working?"

"You mean training him in completely opposing things to see which suits him better? No, that is failing miserably. He isn't a genius by any definition, but he shows so much raw potential in everything he does, we can't bring ourselves to say that he'll never be truly good at it."

"...Causing you and his other instructors both joy and frustration. What's that old saying? 'Jack of all trades, master of none'?"

"That's only half of it. The other half is 'though often better than a master of one'. The funny thing is, that is apparently the Uzumaki clan creed."

"That doesn't surprise me. He is very much like his mother in that respect, among other traits."

Sarutobi cursed himself for letting that slip.

"Now, now Hokage-sama, don't blame yourself. I was at that assessment of yours, and I saw what young Naruto did. That was a clan technique unique to Kushina and her clan, so he must be related to her. I also remember that she was pregnant when she died."

Sarutobi tensed, dreading what Hiashi could say next.

"I believe I will take my leave. Good day, Hokage-sama."

Something in Hiashi's eyes said that he suspected something, but Sarutobi decided not to push the issue.

"Good day to you as well, Hiashi. Have you reached a decision regarding my student?"

"Only that he warrants further investigation."

As Hiashi left, Sarutobi began writing a letter to Jiraiya.

-- -

Uzumaki Hijutsu: Yomi no Ookawa: Acheron – Uzumaki Secret Technique: River of Hell: Acheron

AN: You know, until I wrote this chapter, I hadn't realized that I had unintentionally given Naruto abilities similar to those of the Mangekyou. Think about it. He can create fire that burns without fuel and is nearly impossible to extinguish, like Amaterasu. Naruto can also lock his opponent in a world where time is distorted, and basically torture them. It isn't Tsukiyomi, though, since he can't choose what happens to them, and what they see really did happen. Now that I think of it, who knows what could happen to someone who gets caught by Charybdis.

I'm kind of annoyed, as this realization of mine could seriously throw a wrench in what I had planned for the rest of the story. Only time will tell, though.

Next time: Preliminaries


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

New AN: This chapter has been reposted. I accidentally left out a significant part of this chapter out the first time I posted it. Normally, I would just let my mistakes stand, but I think this chapter needed to be reposted. I doubt the additions will change people's opinions of this chapter, but

AN: I'll say this now. I suck at writing fight scenes. Therefore, most of them will be recaps.

**Rivers of Hades**

_Chapter 15_

-- -

"Alright! You guys made it!"

"YOSH! Was there ever any doubt we would prevail?"

Naruto had run into Tenten and Lee in the tower inside the Forest of Death.

"So, where's Neji at?"

"When we left him, he was staring out a window. What have you been up to?"

"Nothing much. I've spent the last couple days running messages and directing the visiting jounin to hotels, bars, equipment shops, and training grounds. So... how have the Exams been going for you?"

"So far, they haven't been too bad. Neither part was easy, but they could have gone much, much worse. It's what happened before the first part that nearly cost us."

Naruto blinked. "Why, what happened before the first exam?"

Tenten sighed. "Lee here challenged the Uchiha to a spar before the first exam. If it had gone on much longer, both teams would have been disqualified, for fighting outside the designated portions of the Exams and for being late."

Naruto turned to Lee. "Why did you challenge the teme? You have at least an entire year more experience than him. Unless something really bizarre happened, you would have won no matter what."

"I challenged him, Naruto-kun, because I wished to see where I stood against the most recent Rookie of the Year. It was a most unusual fight."

Tenten coughed. "Unusual? Try heavily one-sided, Lee. The Uchiha never got a single blow in."

"That is true. I called it unusual because after I dealt him a blow to the face, his eyes changed color. He seemed confused at first. Then Gai-sensei intervened, ending the fight."

Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose. "He was confused, Lee, because his fight with you activated his Sharingan. Had you not fought him, he probably wouldn't have gotten it until the second phase of the Exams, if even then."

Tenten punched Lee in the arm. "Great, just great. Your stunt just made getting promoted that much harder."

"That might not be true," came a voice from down the hall. The source of the voice came closer, revealing the Hokage, smiling.

"H-Hokage-sama!"

"My dear, Team Seven has not made it to the end of this portion yet, and time is running out. Besides, even though Uchiha Sasuke has the use of the Sharingan now, he has had no time to learn how to use it. He has been preoccupied with the Exams. Should he make it to the third part of the Exams, however, you are right. The other examinees may have their work cut out for them."

"Do you really think that, Hokage-sama? That he is unbeatable now?"

Sarutobi chuckled. "Heavens, no. The Sharingan is a formidable thing, but it isn't everything. It is possible to compensate for facing an opponent wielding it, though much harder for the average genin to do."

"Then why did you say it would be harder?"

"I have been Hokage for a long time, longer than the other three combined, and I have presided over many promotion Exams. I have seen how the majority of ninja, from both Konoha and other villages, react to facing a Uchiha. They fear losing the results of their hard work instantly, so they don't use skills that could give them the advantage. They choose to keep the range of their abilities a secret, and it often costs them dearly. Our profession may be one of secrecy and deception, but when it comes to promotions, one should always do their best."

"I see what you mean, Hokage-sama. Thank you."

"My pleasure. Now then, I must be going. Good day, and congratulations on making it this far. I wish you luck with the remainder of the Exams." With that, Sarutobi headed down the hall.

Lee turned to Naruto. "Your sensei is most youthful for setting us straight. Though I must ask if he should have helped us, giving away information."

Naruto scratched the back of his head, a sly smile on his face. "How did he help? All he did was tell you why so many people have lost to Uchihas in the past. It's also his job to encourage you to do your best, so he gave a pep talk."

--

Naruto stood off to side, only half-listening to the speech his sensei was giving to those who passed the second phase. He had heard most of it when he was told about his personal extended mission. Looking over to the genin still in the running, he decided Konoha had put in a good showing this time, not that he was an expert.

Something had happened to Sasuke, but Naruto had no clue as to what. He knew someone had interfered with the second part of the Exams, and judging from the look on sensei's face when he found out, it was bad.

Looking over at Gaara and his siblings, he was pleased to see that they seemed to have bonded a little. Temari and Kankurou were still tense and nervous around Gaara, but it had lessened noticeably from when Naruto had first met them. The afternoon after his fight with Gaara, Temari and Kankurou had come up to him and said that if he ever used that jutsu on Gaara again, his body would never be found. Even without their threats, Naruto was more than happy to comply. Dealing mental damage to people just wasn't his style.

Turning to his right, he looked up at Zabuza, who had a shit-eating grin beneath his bandages.

"I'm almost afraid to ask this, Zabuza-sensei, but why are you in such a good mood?"

"Gaki, you have no idea how good it feels to be part of the Chuunin Exams again. Proctoring them was one of my favorite non-combat missions back in Kiri."

"Oh. So, what were the Exams like back in Kiri?"

"Well, the first and third parts are pretty much the same no matter where you go. It's the second part that is unique to the village holding it, and is meant to be the hardest part of the Exams. Here, it's a five-day survival exercise. Back in Kiri, it was one-on-one combat with a shinobi of chuunin class or better."

"Chuunin class or better? You mean jounins?"

"Not just them. There was a big roulette wheel with the names of shinobi of various ranks, though the ranks weren't revealed. The wheel was spun for each examinee. The genin would then face off against a shinobi who could be a chuunin, jounin, or even plain-clothes ANBU. Hell, if they were really unlucky, they wound up going against one of the Swordsmen or even the Mizukage."

"Holy crap! What was the point?"

"We didn't go all out. We were just supposed to push them into displaying whether or not they were up to the base physical standards of chuunin. Chuunin level chakra control and the like. As for why it was one-on-one, it has a lot to do with village mentality. Here, teamwork is stressed, which is alright. To Kiri ninja, teamwork is all well and good, but it's more important to be able to stand on your own two feet first. Besides, the Exams in Kiri and Konoha are rather tame compared to Kumo or Iwa's."

"What's so special about theirs?"

"In Kumo, the test takers are basically put through a watered-down interrogation session. They can call it quits at any time, but they need to last past a certain time without cracking to pass. In Iwa, you'd be dropped off in a quarry and do physical labor for a full day. You pass if you make it through the full day."

"And the point for doing that to genin is..."

"To show them what happens if they get captured. Interrogation, then a forced labor camp, depending on the capturing village. Konoha imprisons them, other villages execute them after interrogation. The entire reason the second phases exist is to drop genin into a situation that they probably didn't consider when they put on the hitai-ate for the first time. Being trapped in hostile territory without the safety net of a jounin sensei, or having to fight solo against a superior foe. The second Exam is the main reason why so many genin quit and return to civilian life, followed by making their first kill."

"Wow. So what about Suna or the minor villages?"

"Suna hasn't had the funds to hold the Exams in a long time, but theirs was improvised building; making shelters, weaponry, traps, that kind of stuff, from what was around you at the time. The smaller villages usually send their genin to the major villages for the Exams, but every once in a while, they hold their own Exams. Missing-nin love the minor village Exams."

"Really? I thought that missing-nin stayed away from ninja villages if they could."

"Most of the time they do. The thing is, when the minor villages hold an Exam, they allow missing-nin to participate. Of course, the nin in question goes through a check on just why they left their previous village. If they left under suspicious circumstances, they're usually turned away. If they left peacefully, or because of a disagreement with the running of their old home, they can usually participate."

"So why would missing-nin want to surround themselves by shinobi when they have bounties on their heads?"

"First off, if they're taking the Exams, they are covered in the general truce that applies to anyone taking them. As long as they don't leave the village or commit a crime, they are safe for the duration of the Exam. Second, depending on how well they do, people and villages will start bidding for their services. That way, a nin could find a new home village, or at the very least, legitimate work. Businesses hire them for private security forces, or non-shinobi villages hire them to act as a town watch. So by sticking their necks out a little bit more, they could wind up not being a missing-nin anymore. It's actually a fairly low-hassle C-Rank mission to send a Chuunin or two to the minor village Exams."

"Why would a major village send Chuunin to watch the Exams?"

"Most, if not all the villages send observers. They scout the participating missing-nin for talent, and update their village's Bingo Book as well. It's policy, enforced by damn near every daimyo, that if a missing-nin gains legitimate employment or the protection of a village, be it ninja or civilian, they aren't missing-nin anymore, and can't be hunted. Of course, that's only if they don't continue to live the missing-nin lifestyle. If they keep acting like missing-nin, they're fair game."

"That actually sounds pretty cool. Oh, hey, the preliminaries are about to start!"

--

When the fighters for the first match flashed on the screen, some of the Konoha genin began laughing, Tenten and Lee among them. Kiba was rolling on the ground. Apparently it was no secret what had happened earlier.

**Uchiha Sasuke vs. Rock Lee**

"It appears I did not need to challenge you before the first Exam. Oh well, it makes no difference. You may have the Sharingan now, but you still stand no chance against me, Uchiha-san."

"Like I'm going to lose to a dobe like you."

"Everyone except the combatants head to the observation deck."

When the fight began, it became clear to everyone watching that Sasuke, the newest Rookie of the Year, was no match for last year's dobe. Naruto didn't know why Sasuke wasn't using the Sharingan, but he wasn't sure that it would have helped. At the moment, all he could do was block. Lee was just too damn fast, raining blows on Sasuke without missing a beat. Finally, one punch sent Sasuke flying to the other end of the arena.

Struggling to his feet, Sasuke growled out, "I refuse to lose to you!" Suddenly, strange black marks began appearing on Sasuke's skin, and spread quickly.

The senior Konoha nin and some of the genin tensed. It was like time was standing still. Glancing over at Sarutobi, Naruto saw that he had paled, and his hand was clenching and unclenching.

'_What the hell's going on? Why are they all so nervous?_'

Sasuke now had a wild look in his eyes. "Now, you will die for daring to harm me!"

Naruto yelled, "Lee, finish it now!"

"YOSH! Will do!" With that, Lee sped forward and delivered a punch. The next thing anyone heard was Sasuke screaming, cradling his newly broken arm. From Naruto's vantage point, it was a compound fracture, broken in at least three separate places. Hayate reacted, ending the match.

"That's enough! Shousha, Rock Lee!"

Kakashi shunshined down and gruffly began to cart Sasuke off to the medics. When Sasuke began fighting him, wanting to stay and watch, Kakashi knocked him out. Before he left, he turned to face Sai and Sakura.

"Sai, Sakura, if I'm not back in time for your matches, I want to wish you both luck."

As Lee made his way out of the arena, Sarutobi called Naruto over to him. The color had begun to return to the man's face.

"Naruto," began Sarutobi, "why did you tell Lee to end the fight? He seemed to be doing well enough on his own."

Naruto sighed. This was one of the harder exercises he had to go through. Sarutobi would give him a situation and some background information, ask him to make a decision on how to proceed, and make him defend his choice. He didn't normally do too well. He could make good decisions, but he had trouble with explaining the reasons.

"I told him to do it because of what was going on with Sasuke. I had no idea what was going on, and I felt the fight had to end as quickly as possible. That is what you, Kakashi, Gai-sensei, and Zabuza-sensei have all taught me to do. 'In combat, if you see something that doesn't seem right, end the fight immediately.'"

"How do you know it wasn't just some new jutsu?"

"If it was a jutsu,why were you, the jounin, and some of the genin so worried? I saw some of them reaching for their weapons or beginning hand seals. They were expecting something bad to happen."

"So you told Lee to end the fight before someone decided to intervene, disqualifying both Sasuke and Lee?

Naruto nodded, waiting for the final verdict.

"For a split-second decision, I think you did well. However, as you said, it was appropriate only for a combat situation. In leadership of a large number of people, you will need much stronger reasoning, and often proof as well. Now then, I believe the next match is about to start."

--

Naruto's final opinion of the preliminary fights was mixed. Some of them were really good, and some were one-sided.

Ino had faced Tenten. While the match showed that she had begun taking her training seriously, it became obvious that Asuma had been getting her up to par physically, but hadn't done much else. In the end, it was Ino's taijutsu against Tenten's weapons. The **Shintenshin no jutsu** was out as well. The instant Ino used it, Tenten would turn her into a pincushion. Needless to say, Tenten won.

Kiba's fight was enough to make half the genin present break down laughing. He and Akamaru had the Oto nin Zaku boxed in. However, when they attacked with a **Gatsuuga**, Kiba wasn't able to stop in time to keep himself from following Zaku into the wall, knocking them both out. After a stunned moment, Hayate declared Akamaru the winner, though officially, the match was a draw. Both human contestants were carted off to have their head injuries seen to.

Sai's fight was one of the better ones. Akadou Yoroi, his opponent, had first tried to get in close and drain Sai's chakra with some weird ability. Sai proved able to evade the older nin, and attacked with animals he had drawn on a sketch pad. Sai won when Yoroi drained the chakra from one of Sai's creations, turning it back into ink. Yoroi then slipped on the ink. When he landed, Sai pinned him with wire. Naruto was tempted to try and recreate the jutsu when the preliminaries were over, but finally decided he wasn't that good of an artist. Besides, there was just something about standing back and letting someone or something else do your fighting for you that didn't appeal to Naruto. Of course, he had always been a hands-on type of person.

He had gotten the same feeling watching Kankurou's fight against Sakura. Puppetry looked cool and all, but it just didn't seem right. Kankurou eventually won because Sakura hadn't been able to get past his puppet to attack him.

Temari's fight against Chouji had really impressed Naruto. He had never seen someone fight with a fan before. From what he saw, the big fan was powerful, but slow, and Temari wasn't carrying any other weapons that Naruto could see.

Naruto was torn when Neji's fight came around. He wanted his fellow Konoha nin to win, but he wanted someone to take Neji down a couple pegs more. He wasn't getting the chance to do it himself, but Gaara, Neji's opponent, would do just as well. Gaara's sand prevented Neji from getting within range to attack. Eventually, Neji lost his temper and charged Gaara, who picked Neji up with his sand and slammed him several times into the ground, without once moving from his spot. That spoke volumes about the change in Gaara. He had told Naruto that normally he killed anyone who challenged him in combat.

Finally, it came time for the winners to draw for their positions in the finals. Sarutobi spoke to the nine finalists: Temari, Shikamaru, Shino, Sai, Lee, Tenten, Hinata, Gaara and Kankurou.

"All nine of you have done remarkably well. In one month, you will all face each other in the finals. First, however, you must draw a tile from this box to determine the order in which you will fight."

When the nine finalists had drawn, Sarutobi announced the order.

Let's see. The first fight is Sai versus Tenten. Second fight, Nara Shikamaru versus Hyuuga Hinata. Third is Sabaku no Temari versus Rock Lee. The fighters in the fourth match are Aburame Shino and Sabaku no Kankurou. Lastly, Sabaku no Gaara versus Uzumaki Naruto."

At Naruto's name, some of the disqualified genin, mostly Sasuke and to a lesser extent Kiba and Neji, began to speak out.

"Why is he in the finals? He isn't even taking the Exams!"

"Uchiha-san, my student is listed as an alternate for the finals, and has been for the last three weeks."

"Damn it, I want in the finals! I demand that you give me the dobe's spot!"

At that announcement, Naruto and the senior nin, regardless of village, tensed. Sarutobi dropped his smile, staring directly at Sasuke, who defiantly stared right back.

"Uchiha-san, you are a genin. I am a Kage, your village's leader, and your superior. You are in no position to make demands of me. You are one step away from being insubordinate to me, and trust me, if you take that step, you will be punished. I may be known for being more tolerant of such things than others, but there is a limit to my patience."

"Hmph."

"Tomorrow morning, you will report to the Hokage Tower at nine. The entrance could use a good cleaning, and you've just volunteered for the job." Sarutobi looked around at the assembled genin. "Now then, does any one else wish to lodge a complaint about Naruto fighting in the finals?"

Sakura raised her hand. "Um, Hokage-sama? I don't have a complaint, but doesn't Naruto have an unfair advantage over the other finalists? He's seen them fight, but none of us have seen him."

"Haruno-san, you have forgotten my little speech before the preliminaries. This is a war in miniature. In your career as shinobi, you can't be assured of always knowing who your opponent is and what they are capable of. In such situations, it is entirely possible that while you know nothing about them, they may know a great deal about you. It is with this in mind that Naruto is serving as an unknown."

Kiba scratched his head. "You know, this sounds really familiar."

"It should. I believe Morino Ibiki told you much the same thing after the first Exam. If you can't bring yourself to take a chance and face the unknown, you aren't ready to be chuunin, much less shinobi."

"Well, that makes sense, I guess. It's weird that Kabuto didn't know about this. He sure knew enough about everyone else involved with the Exams."

At this, the senior nin in the room turned to face Kiba and the others. Kurenai asked the question, "Kiba, what are you talking about?"

"One of the other Konoha genin, Kabuto, he had info on everyone taking the Exams. Mission records, stats, the works. We checked ourselves out, and the info was legitimate."

Sarutobi was twitching imperceptibly. Something was not right. He needed to wrap things up quickly.

"Now then, are there any other questions? No? Then follow me back to the village, and we will see you at the arena in one month."

--

"Hokage-sama. Your guest is waiting in your office."

"Ah, good."

Sarutobi walked into his office.

"Okay, sensei, what on earth is so important that you called me back?"

"Hello to you, too, Jiraiya. Hold on one moment, please. I need to speak with two ANBU first."

As if on cue, two ANBU entered the office and knelt down before Sarutobi. "You sent for us, Hokage-sama?"

"Yes, I did. It has come to my attention that we may have a spy in our ranks. I want you two to investigate one Yakushi Kabuto. If he is a spy, I want to know who he is working for. Do not confront him. Understood?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama," they answered him.

"Dismissed."

After the ANBU departed, Sarutobi sat down at his desk.

"A spy, huh? What was the tip-off?"

"If what I was told is true, he is or was in possession of information that no one person, especially a genin, should have access to."

Jiraiya whistled. "That's a pretty big red flag alright. Back to my question, though. What am I doing here, sensei?"

"Straight to business, eh? In that case, I'll come right out and tell you. I want you to perform a long overdue inspection on Naruto-kun's seal."

Jiraiya blinked. "Eh? A check-up? Why now, after thirteen years?"

"Because as someone recently pointed out to me, Minato was an exceptional seal expert, but one thing he was not capable of was breaking one of the main tenets of fuinjutsu, namely that seals lose strength without upkeep."

"You're right about that, I'll admit. But what about..."

Sarutobi sighed, leaning back in his chair. "The excessive wait, I know. There are a multitude of excuses I could use, but here is the simple truth. At first, I didn't ask for you to do this because it was my belief that if I showed faith in Minato's abilities, the rest of the village would follow. Having you around so often to inspect the seal would have undermined what I was trying to do. Also, how could I have arranged for an annual inspection without revealing his secret to him? One year turned into two, then three. As he grew up, I saw no additional signs of his tenant's presence and assumed the seal was holding. I had grown fond of the boy, and it blinded me to the risk I was taking. It took Hyuuga Hiashi pointing that out to me to make me realize the potential danger I was engendering. That was when I wrote to you, asking you to return."

"So it wasn't because you thought I'd want to take him with me?"

"You had still wanted to take the boy with you? I thought you had given up on that years ago. In all honesty, there were times when I had given your offers serious consideration."

Now it was Jiraiya's turn to sigh. "At first, I was really angry with you for not letting me take him with me. Then, I had a really, really bad encounter. The gaki would have been five, maybe six. I got into a huge fight with a bunch of missing-nin. After the fight, I sat there recovering. I remembered getting into similar situations when Minato and I were on our training trips. That led me to think about Naruto, and I started wishing he had been with me for company. Then I slapped myself for wanting to drag a little kid into life-and-death battles. After that, I stopped pestering you about taking him with me. You were right to keep him here, I just didn't see that."

"Jiraiya, I have no doubt that if I had let you take him he would have become an amazing shinobi."

"He'd have been a powerful shinobi, true, but not much else. Here, at least, he had a normal childhood, friends his own age, that sort of stuff. I couldn't have given him that, not with my nomadic lifestyle. Besides, I'd say he's got a better teacher in you than I could have ever been. You're twice as patient as I will ever be."

"He's had a childhood, but it didn't start to resemble anything close to what you or I would call normal until he was ten and moved in with Kakashi."

"He moved in with Minato's student? Why?"

"Naruto's apartment burned down. Several months prior, I had given Naruto his inheritance from Kushina. He was attacked in his apartment, and invoked **Phlegethon** in self-preservation. After that, I reread Minato's written wishes regarding him, and discovered things I hadn't seen before, such as the names of those Minato entrusted to protect Naruto, which happens to be you, me, and Kakashi."

Jiraiya's brow furrowed. "Why didn't you see this before then?"

"Because your student wrote the list himself, and didn't tell us what he wanted to our faces, outside of his final wish. His inability to express himself in words struck at one of the worst possible times, and his son suffered for it."

"Hm. So, what's the boy like?"

"He is remarkable, not just as a shinobi or as my student, but as a person. Almost too remarkable at times." At Jiraiya's unspoken urge, he continued, "He adapts to just about anything. His other two instructors, Kakashi, and I have been trying for some time now to help him choose his specialties, and nothing is working. With any other shinobi, such a thing would be dismissed as genius, but with Naruto, there is an extra variable to consider."

"Do you suspect the Kyuubi?"

"It seems a plausible explanation, but I have no proof. Were I to blame the Kyuubi without rock-solid evidence of its involvement, I would be no better than some of the villagers. As much as it pains me to say this, some of the more... stubborn villagers continue to blame him for any undesirable event, from hangnails and stubbed toes to an animal defecating in their yards."

"Huh. Would you like me to see if the Kyuubi is responsible when I do the check-up?"

"Please do. It would be one less thing for me to be constantly worried about."

"I can understand you being worried that this could be a sign that the seal may have weakened and that the beast may have a greater influence on him than we would like, but what if the seal is still stable?"

"It will still be less of a worry to me, and I will be able to sleep again. Jiraiya, I haven't had a restful night of sleep since Hiashi convinced me to send for you. Ever since that day, I've been lying awake at night, going through my memories, looking for warning signs I might have missed the first time. I find none, but it does little to ease the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I made a rookie mistake, losing my objectivity like that, and it is especially nerve-wracking to me after what happened the last time I allowed my personal feelings to cloud my judgment."

"Are you afraid you're making him into another Orochimaru, sensei?"

"I hate to admit it, but there are times when I am very afraid that I am doing just that. He has a similar drive to learn and talent. What's more, he has a great destructive force within him and more than enough reason to lay waste to the village. If that ever happened, I doubt I could bring myself to try and stop him. If I did, it would be more out of a sense of duty than anything else. It is partly for that reason that I have decided against teaching Naruto-kun to conceal his emotions, for the moment at least."

"Why, in Kami's name, would you deny him that?"

"We have only recently managed to convince him to tell us what he really thinks, not just what he thinks we want to hear. Training him to have a poker face at all times would throw all that work out the window, at least at the moment."

"He sure doesn't seem to have any trouble speaking his mind to me, from what I've already seen and heard."

"You would think so, but he can be notoriously tight-lipped and sensitive when he wants to be. Of everyone he truly trusts, he trusts both me and Kakashi most of all, and there are things that he won't talk to us about. On more than one occasion, he has failed to let us know when he needs new supplies. When we asked about it, he replied that he was afraid we'd think he was careless."

"He cares too much about other people's opinions?"

"Yes, especially the opinions of those he cares about. He's desperate for acceptance, and once he gains it, he becomes unwilling to do or say anything that could cause him to lose that acceptance. In professional life, this is unacceptable. If a mission fails because he had vital information in his possession, but didn't share it because he thought the others wouldn't want to hear it..." Sarutobi left the thought unfinished. "It's the classic problem between civilians and shinobi. Parents raise their children to be honest and tell the truth, but their profession requires them to lie, cheat, and steal. Naruto-kun needs to know when to speak his mind and when to be silent, when and when not to volunteer information, and when he should give his opinion and when he should be objective and state only the facts.

Sarutobi sighed, "It is one of the few areas in which he is truly deficient, and until that situation is remedied, I can't have someone teach him emotional concealment. It could potentially ruin him, both professionally and personally."

"Personally, sensei?"

"I know I'll sound like a scheming woman, but I want Naruto to have a family of his own one day. I know from experience how important communication is to forging and maintaining a healthy relationship. As such, I want to give Naruto every chance possible to have the best life he can. We are, however, working on getting him to not let his emotions cloud his judgment. It's not the same, but it will have to suffice until he is ready to learn to suppress emotions when he is on the job.

"Overall, I may have my personal fears, but I know they are unfounded and Naruto-kun disproves them easily. When I'm not being seized by those lingering fears, he reminds me more of you than Orochimaru."

"Sensei, Oro-teme burned you. Bad. You had high hopes for him, and he stabbed you in the back. I can totally understand why you're so afraid it could happen again. You don't like making the same mistake twice. Who does? Besides, I'm sure that if Naruto starts behaving like the traitor, someone is going to notice."

Sarutobi sighed, looking much older than he had when he had walked into his office earlier. "I suppose you're right, Jiraiya."

"I know I am, sensei. So, mind telling me why Momochi Zabuza is training the boy?"

The sudden change of topic stunned Sarutobi, but he recovered quickly. "There are three main reasons, political, practical, and personal."

"Care to enlighten me?"

"Many people in the village are leery of being around him. My political reason is to give him a chance at gaining acceptance. Practically, his time as part of the reserve forces is almost up. I need to see what would be the best course of action to take with him. So far, I have decided that a genin team is out of the question for the time being, and he is much better teaching advanced kenjutsu than beginning techniques."

"And the personal reason?"

"So impatient. I was getting to that. By a strange coincidence, Zabuza's jounin-sensei was Uzumaki Kenji, one of the five refugees, and the one who lived the longest of them all. If not for Naruto's birth, the clan would probably have died with him."

"Probably, sensei?"

"After all this time, there is still no definite answer as to the fate of the Uzumaki that was bound for Iwa. I think that it is fairly safe to say that Naruto is the last Uzumaki. Anyhow, Kenji took Zabuza under his wing when no one else in Kiri would. He feels he has a debt to the man, and teaching Naruto-kun is his way of repaying that debt."

"You said Zabuza was teaching him, not just training. What else is the gaki learning from him?"

"I thought you would have figured it out, Jiraiya. Right now, Momochi Zabuza is the closest thing in the world there is to another Uzumaki. So, he is teaching Naruto-kun about what it means to be an Uzumaki."

"I can buy teaching him to repay a debt, but how in the hell would Zabuza know anything about the Uzumaki clan traditions? The clan may have been unconventional, but I highly doubt they would let outsiders know their most guarded secrets."

"I have my suspicions as to why Kenji did so. Remember, the almost complete decimation of the clan was unexpected. They expected the refugees to be safe, and to start taking measures to rebuild their clan. The way I see it, Kenji taught Zabuza some of the clan traditions in preparation for having him help rebuild the clan by marrying into it."

"That makes sense, I guess. Well, if you don't mind, sensei, I'll take my leave."

"Certainly. Would you like me to summon Naruto-kun?"

"Nah, don't bother. I've spent all day traveling. I'm beat. I'm sure I'll run into him at some point. I'll let you know when I've finished looking at his seal."

Sarutobi chuckled. "I have a sneaking suspicion that once you meet him, you'll be fighting to take over his training from me."

"Sensei, you know I swore that I'd never take another student."

"Yes, I know. I swore the same thing myself after the three of you began making your own paths in the world, and look at what I'm doing now."

"Point taken. See ya later, sensei."

"Alright. Have a good day."

-- -

AN: Before I get a shitload of complaints about Sarutobi fearing Naruto may turn out like Orochimaru, I'd like to defend myself. Sarutobi was screwed over by someone he cared for. Any normal person would be afraid of it happening again, the same way people who almost drown sometimes develop hydrophobia. If it could happen once, it could happen again. Yes, it's irrational, but that's the way it works a lot of the time. Thank you.

Next time: Results & New Complications


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Notice to all returning readers:** The previous chapter has been reposted. See new AN at top of last chapter for reason.

**Rivers of Hades**

_Chapter 16_

-- -

"Hey there, sensei."

Sarutobi looked up from the folder in his hands to see Jiraiya standing in front of the desk, an unusual mix of expressions on his face.

"Ah, Jiraiya. What can I do for you?"

"I came to tell you that I finished the exam on the gaki's seal. If I didn't know better, I would swear it was just done."

"That was fast. Is there anything I should know?

"Depends. I could give you a more detailed account, but you look like you're in the middle of something."

"Yes, well, it's nothing that can't wait a little while more. One of the shops in town filed a request to buy some vacant property next door to them and expand their store. I'm supposed to review the information and decide whether to approve or reject their request."

"I see. Not exactly time-sensitive, then."

"Not at all. So, what do you think of my youngest student?"

"Well," Jiraiya began, "we sure met in an unusual way. I was doing 'research' at the hot springs when your student managed to sneak up behind me and alert all the women that I was there, who then proceeded to pound the crap out of me. Once that was over, I was about to introduce myself when he said that he already knew who I was. He didn't even let do my introduction dance!"

Sarutobi mentally rolled his eyes. "That's a shame, Jiraiya. What happened next?"

"I took him off to one of the more isolated areas and did a preliminary inspection of the seal. It was a little worn around the edges, but was still holding fine. The Kyuubi is still contained, but the beast has exerted some form of influence over the boy's physical condition."

"Well, yes, I knew that. The boy heals rapidly, faster than is achievable with most medical techniques."

"Okay, that wasn't quite what I meant, but it works too."

Sarutobi grew concerned. "You weren't speaking about his healing abilities? What did you mean, then?"

"Give me a sec. When I started going more in-depth with my inspection, I found that the amount of chakra he's gained from the Kyuubi has dropped."

"Are you saying that his overall reserves have shrunk? You said the seal was in perfect working order!"

"Sorry, I misspoke. His reserves haven't shrunk, and the seal is working. It seems that there is a little loophole in the seal's workings no one anticipated. The Kyuubi can, for lack of a better term, 'donate' some of its energies in addition to what the seal siphons off daily. When I said the amount he received had fallen, I meant that the Kyuubi was no longer giving the extra youkai."

"I see. It was probably trying to gain some sort of influence over the boy. When that failed, it decided to try another tactic. Can you tell when the drop-off started?"

"From what I could tell, around two and a half to three years ago. Why do you ask?"

"Two and a half years? Interesting. I gave Naruto his mother's scroll a little over two and a half years ago. There could be a connection."

"It could also be a coincidence. Were there any other events that happened to the kid around that time?"

"Not really. I gave him the scroll, and a few weeks later, I arranged for Kakashi to start working with him on some chakra control exercises designed especially for members of the Uzumaki clan. The morning after their first session, Kakashi came to see me. Naruto had inadvertently let slip enough information that Kakashi was able to guess as to the identities of his parents."

"Hmm. Chakra control..."

"What is it?"

"Well, I have a theory. When the Kyuubi attacked, it was with raw power. When it was sealed, it may have decided that what had worked for it would work equally well for Naruto, and started donating extra youkai. Then, when the boy started working on his control, the beast could have realized that the rules were different for humans, stopped donating, and began looking for other ways to ensure Naruto's, and by association, his, survival."

"That... does make a certain amount of sense, though it troubles me to think that the Kyuubi is so aware of the world around Naruto."

"I wouldn't say that the Kyuubi is aware of the world around Naruto. Instead, I'd say that it's aware of what Naruto's body is going through. As long as the seal is holding, the Kyuubi is completely cut off from the outside world."

"It still doesn't explain what you meant by saying that the Kyuubi has another influence on the boy."

"I'm getting there. I went to the Hyuuga compound to see if I could borrow the services of a Hyuuga to observe the boy's training sessions from start to finish. Imagine my surprise when Hyuuga Hiashi himself volunteered to watch."

"He has taken an interest in Naruto lately, so it doesn't really surprise me."

"Huh. Anyway, on the way to where the gaki was training, he mentioned that you had told him that you, Gai, and Zabuza were becoming frustrated at how the boy was adapting to mutually exclusive styles. Well, when Hiashi started watching with his Byakugan, he began to notice trace amounts of youkai in Naruto's system when he was stretching. Not enough to raise any alarms, but more than could be explained by the seal, and it was always concentrated on the muscles that he was stretching at the time."

Sarutobi sat up in his chair. This could be the answer he had been looking for. "What was the youkai doing?"

"Hiashi couldn't tell exactly what was happening, but he said that it appeared to just be loosening them up. All we know is that he is apparently much more flexible than he should be."

"So Naruto-kun is basically getting a deep-tissue massage at all times, completely unaware, which makes him more flexible and increases his range of motion. That would explain why we never noticed it before. We were all looking for something obviously unusual. We never thought to look for something this subtle from the Kyuubi. Very clever. Were there any complications?"

"Yeah, there was. That Uchiha kid was spying on us."

"Really? Can you prove it?"

"Sure I can. Three separate times that idiot was hiding in trees surrounding us. Hiashi and I scared him off each time, only or him to reappear again a few minutes later, in a different location farther away than the last time. Finally, I threatened to gouge out his eyes if he didn't leave. Honestly, the little prick thought he was good enough to hide from a jounin and one of the Densetsu no Sannin."

"Jiraiya, are you pressing charges?" Something in Sarutobi's eyes begged him to say 'yes'.

"Damn straight! Why wouldn't I?"

"Let me show you something." Sarutobi reached down and produced two items from a desk drawer, a thin folder and a filled binder.

Gesturing to the folder, Sarutobi spoke. "This isn't the first time he's done this. In this folder is every complaint filed on him by someone he's been spying on. It include members of various clans, high-ranking and skilled shinobi, and all ten finalists in the Exams."

"This, however," Sarutobi continued, indicating the binder, "contains every incident of his observation as recorded by several ANBU I've had trailing him for a while now. As you can see, there are many more incidents that aren't being reported for one reason or another."

"What do you suspect?"

"One possible reason is that the other shinobi know he is there, and simply don't care to report him. The second most likely reason is that they are unaware of his presence, which either speaks very highly of his stealth skills or very poorly of the ability of our shinobi to detect the presence of other nin, which is troubling."

"So what's your plan?"

"With the testimony of both you and Hiashi, I can take action. I will make the necessary arrangements."

"Any ideas as to what you're going to do to him?"

"Yes, actually. I was given the idea by one of the people he spied on."

Jiraiya put his hands behind his head. "Man, I haven't heard of any village doing this in the last five years, and its been at least ten since the last time we did this to a Uchiha. I'd almost forgotten about this little ritual."

"I know. It's doubtful that young Sasuke would even know what he's brought upon himself. I also highly doubt he realizes what damage he may have done to the village politically. Which is why I must take action now."

"Is that why you've waited so long to pull this off then, sensei?"

"No. The evidence in most of the charges was too weak to hold up to the scrutiny they would have undergone. With the exception of the Suna team, none of the genin were able to conclusively identify Sasuke as the one spying on them. They knew someone was watching, but not who it was. The Suna team, however, confronted him and took pictures proving it was him, then reported it. That was yesterday.

"Of the other nin he has been caught observing, two are not credible because they are on probation. Others have filed multiple complaints that were later proved fraudulent, so their accusations can't be entirely trusted. I can't submit the ANBU reports as they automatically become classified documents and because I'm not supposed to have ANBU following Konoha shinobi for something like this. This sort of thing normally fell under the jurisdiction of the Konoha Military Police, and that never changed after the decimation of the Uchiha clan. The testimony of a respected jounin and clan head, along with that of one of the Densetsu no Sannin, should be sufficient to quell any doubts that he has spied on at least one fellow Konoha shinobi. I intend to charge him on the strongest cases: the one to be filed by yourself and Hiashi and those of the Suna genin.

"You've really planned this out, sensei. All this, just so that you could skip the usual punishments for a first offense?"

"As you said, it has been quite some time since anyone has been found to have committed this particular crime, and even longer since it was a Uchiha. I didn't expect you to remember that when a Uchiha is found to have done this, we skip the initial punishments and proceed to the second level of sentencing. Besides, the boy has complete access to all of the Uchiha clan's money. Fines and doing missions for free or half-price aren't going to faze him in the least. As the Hokage, I am held to a certain level of ethical behavior by the civilian populace, but I am first and foremost a ninja, and it is my prerogative to do whatever I see fit to accomplish my goals."

"I just hope you know what you're doing, sensei."

"I hope so too. I know I am human, and have made more than my fair share of mistakes and bad decisions. I had hoped it wouldn't come to this. I don't want to do this, but I know it must be done, for the sake of this village and those who call it home."

--

Two days later, all off-duty shinobi in the village, whether they were active, reserves, or retired, were summoned to an immense training ground near the arena were the Exam finals would be held in three weeks. Even the Suna team was present. Civilians were denied entrance. This was a matter for shinobi only. Eventually, a large ring was formed, with the Hokage in the center. Sarutobi cleared his throat.

"Everyone, please take a seat. Thank you for coming. I have summoned you all here for a very important reason. Before we begin, however, I feel I should explain what is to happen to those who are too young to know and to refresh the memories of those of you who may have forgotten.

"It is often said that it is both our right and responsibility as ninja to grow stronger using whatever means necessary. This is true, although in order for ninja to be able to work together, certain restrictions have been in place almost since the beginning of the shinobi era.

"It is the right of everyone here for your private training sessions to be just that, private. It is one thing to hear something and investigate the cause, and another to spy on your comrades and fellow shinobi for your own personal gain. If you do investigate and realize you have stumbled across a training session, you must either announce your presence or leave immediately. That is standard policy in every reputable shinobi village. For someone to covertly observe the training of another is a grave offense, though the actual punishment varies depending on the village and the record of the ninja convicted of observing.

"While spying on ninja from your own village is shameful, it is even more reprehensible to spy on visiting shinobi who are in your village under a truce. Uchiha Sasuke, step forward."

Sasuke stepped out from the crowd, his perpetual glare set on his face. He walked forward towards Sarutobi.

"Uchiha Sasuke, you have been formally charged with multiple counts of covert observation of fellow Konoha shinobi, as well as observing the training of the three Suna genin, who are here under the truce of the Chuunin Exams. Do you have anything to say in your defense?"

Sasuke said nothing, continuing to glare directly at Sarutobi.

"I will take that as a no. Very well. In accordance with standard procedure involving shinobi accused of crimes against their village and those under their village's protection, a panel of shinobi of all ranks was convened, its purpose to determine whether or not a crime was committed. Uchiha Sasuke, you have been found guilty by your peers. You will now be sentenced."

Once again addressing the audience, he began. "Allow me to explain. Normally, the punishment for a first offense is a combination of fines and performing mission at discount prices. However, a Uchiha has the ability to gain more from watching a single training session than most others, so we have a much harsher sentence for them. Uchiha Sasuke will face an opponent of my choosing in a fight right here on this field."

At this, various shinobi stood and began yelling in protest at this sentence. Sarutobi silenced them by flaring his chakra.

"Be silent! By illegally observing the Suna genin both individually and as a team, he has committed at least four separate acts of aggression against Suna. The Suna genin are well within their rights to demand his head for what he has done. Should it be reported that he received leniency after committing these acts, we could stand to lose both business and our standing as an honorable village, where those who commit crimes of their own volition are punished for them. However, I have spoken with the Suna team, and we have reached an agreement. Sasuke's actions will not be reported to Sunagakure, provided he receives the maximum punishment for a genin. Now tell me, which is truly more important: preserving our village's reputation and good name, or allowing a genin to get away with committing crimes that are acts of war, each of which would warrant a death sentence to anyone above the rank of chuunin?"

There was grumbling from some of the assembled nin, but no one else raised their voice in further protest.

"Good. I have spent the majority of my life in service to this village and the principles it stands for. It would pain me to think that the village I thought this was existed only in my imagination. Now then, Jiraiya, administer the seal."

Jiraiya appeared behind Sasuke and slammed his hand into Sasuke's neck, next to the curse seal.

"Fuin!"

Sasuke fell to the ground, writhing in pain. Sarutobi continued.

"The seal you have now received prevents the usage of your Sharingan while it is on you. It wouldn't be much of a punishment if you come away with new jutsu, now would it?"

"Y-you have no right to take the Sharingan away from me."

"On the contrary, I have every right. You are a shinobi under my command, and you have broken several laws. As such, I may do whatever I wish as punishment. Should you do it again, the next step will be the surgical removal of your eyes."

Sasuke glared. "Let's get this over with."

"Very well. Uchiha Sasuke, your opponent... is me." Sarutobi removed his hat and robe to reveal an older style of shinobi uniform.

The Konoha shinobi present stiffened. The Hokage was going to fight a genin? Nothing they could say would change anything, but they hoped the Hokage wouldn't be going all out against the boy.

"Jiraiya, you may proceed."

"Hai, sensei. Combatants, take your positions. HAJIME!!"

At Jiraiya's signal, Sarutobi dashed forward, sinking his fist into Sasuke's stomach. When Sasuke bent forward, Sarutobi grabbed his arms and spun around, the force causing Sasuke's feet to leave the ground. The Hokage then let go, sending Sasuke flying. Sasuke landed roughly, managing to cushion himself only enough to prevent serious injury. The jarring pain that shot through his body stunned him enough to cause him to lose sight of the elderly Kage. Whirling around, Sasuke found himself being launched skyward as Sarutobi caught him from behind. Mid-air, Sasuke began making seals for a Katon jutsu, only to be interrupted by having to avoid a swarm of shuriken.

"You would do well to conserve your chakra for using **Kawarimi** rather than trying to attack me, young genin. But if you wish to step this up, I am happy to oblige."

--

Among the crowd, the genin teams had gathered. Kurenai took the opportunity to ask a question that was on the minds of most everyone present.

"Kakashi-san, why didn't you try to defend Sasuke-san? As his jounin-sensei, that is your responsibility, is it not?"

Normally Kakashi would have brushed her question off, but he didn't feel like being asked that question incessantly.

"Kurenai-san, it is my personal belief that adhering to the law is of the utmost importance, second only to loyalty to one's comrades. I also believe that if these laws are broken, one deserves the following consequences. My student violated laws enforced by ninja villages and daimyos alike, and he is now paying the price. As for why I did not defend him, there really is no excuse for his actions. Ignorance of the law is not a valid excuse, no matter where you are. Besides, had I ever done the same thing, I could have been made to face the Hokage, and as good as I may be, Hokage-sama is still a much better shinobi than I.

"Why would you have had to fight the Hokage? You aren't a Uchiha."

"When it was determined that I could use my Sharingan to full effect, the law was changed from 'any Uchiha with an active Sharingan' to 'anyone in possession of an active Sharingan'. Sensei and Hokage-sama both made sure to close any loopholes, ensuring that I would not have any excuse should I ever do what Sasuke-kun has done."

'_Why else would I tail him and write most of the ANBU reports on his attempts at espionage for Hokage-sama?_'

Shino arched an eyebrow. "Hokage-sama is generating killing intent and focusing it at the Uchiha. Most unusual."

"Actually," replied Asuma, "the only rules for this sort of thing are that pop... er, the Hokage, can't do anything that would directly lead to your classmate's death. If he dies of the injuries he receives, that's legal. So, no poisons, intentional death-blows, or stuff like that. Beyond that, he can do anything he wants. That includes using killing intent."

Sakura asked the next question. "Kakashi-sensei, if Sasuke was charged with a crime, why didn't he know?"

"Civilian crimes get civilian trials, which are open to the public. This was a shinobi crime, and shinobi trials are different. As we are trained to kill, it would be rather senseless to let the accused see the faces of those who will decide his guilt or innocence, as they are our comrades, and we need to be able to work together. It could cause bad blood, and jeopardize the village if the accused were to go around killing the jurors for his trial. So, the trials are conducted in secret."

--

Sasuke was in trouble. After his failed attempt at retaliation, the Hokage was showing him no mercy. Actually, the fact that he was still alive meant that he was being shown some mercy. Now, instead of just dodging physical blows and weapons, he had to contend with jutsu as well, all the while being blasted with just enough killing intent to interfere with his reaction time. He was having trouble performing the most basic movements now. The Sandaime had scored enough solid blows and done enough damage that Sasuke wouldn't last much longer.

Sarutobi called out his final jutsu. "**Doton: Ishi K****yanonbo-ru**!" The ground next to Sarutobi swelled and spat out a stone sphere the size of Sarutobi's head at Sasuke. The jutsu connected, and the entire clearing was filled with the sound of Sasuke's ribs breaking and the accompanying cries of pain.

Jiraiya stepped forward. "I'm ending this. He's completely defenseless and will be out of commission for a while."

Medics were called in. They began stabilizing Sasuke for transport to the hospital. Sarutobi spoke up again.

"Before we adjourn, there is one more thing. As I said, this little spectacle was young Sasuke's punishment for spying on the Suna genin. Uchiha-san was also found guilty of spying on fellow Konoha nin, and I must now hand down the sentence for this offense. The seal that disables the Sharingan will remain on him until both Jiraiya and I decide it is to be taken off. Any attempt to remove or alter the seal will result in the Sharingan being permanently sealed. You may go now."

The shinobi began to disperse. Sarutobi walked over to where Naruto was standing.

"Naruto-kun, I believe I have you to thank for how well I did."

Naruto scratched his head. "Um, what are you talking about? I didn't have anything to do with your fight."

Sarutobi laughed. "Naruto-kun, until I started training you, I hadn't realized precisely how out of shape I had gotten sitting in that office day in and day out. Were it not for you, I could have easily gotten hurt or made a complete fool of myself. Now, if you would, run up to my office and get out the basin, the salts and liniments. Also, put on some water to boil. I may not have hurt myself, but by the time I get back to the office, the adrenaline will have worn off, and I'm going to really feel the pain."

"Hai, sensei." Naruto took off in the direction of the Hokage's tower.

'_Getting old really sucks sometimes,_' commented the elderly Kage as he made his way towards the same destination.

--

There was a knock at the door of the Hokage's office.

"Hokage-sama, we have an update regarding our mission."

Sarutobi gave permission to enter and looked up from his desk. His feet were still aching, so he had them soaking in the basin filled with epsom salts and hot water. The two ANBU he had assigned to investigate Yakushi Kabuto were in front of his desk. "So soon? It's barely been a week since I gave you the mission. Alright. Let's hear it."

"We are nowhere near the conclusion of our investigation, Hokage-sama, but we have uncovered evidence that we felt could not wait."

"Go on."

"Outwardly, he has done nothing suspicious. If he knows we are watching, he does not show it. However, we were able to recover a set of chakra-responsive data cards from his apartment while he was out. Whatever information was on them has since been wiped clean, but we were able to retrieve fingerprints from the surface of the cards."

"Whose fingerprints did you recover?"

"Yakushi-san's prints, as would be expected. Also, the prints of several of the rookie Konoha genin, and one other source."

"The genin admitted to looking themselves up, so that would explain the presence of their fingerprints. What of this 'other source'? Have you identified this other person?"

The ANBU shared a look. "We have, sir. The prints belong to... Orochimaru."

If they were expecting an outburst, they were sorely disappointed. Sarutobi simply leaned back into his chair and steepled his fingers.

"I see. It makes sense that in order to gain access to Training Ground 44, not to mention the village, he would need someone on the inside. Is there anything else?"

"It appears that in order to maintain his cover as a genin, he is actively masking his chakra. As a result, we can only guess as to his true level of skill."

"Very well. Continue watching him. Again, no confronting him. His adopted father was a medic of considerable skill. Kabuto may be able to use some of the medical jutsu that can be adapted for use in combat. Report directly to me if anything else should arise. I will also be assigning additional ANBU to assist you. Should I be otherwise occupied when you need to inform me of some new development, the emergency pass-phrase will be 'Kunai and shuriken are on sale downtown'."

"Understood, Hokage-sama."

-- -

**Doton: Ishi K****yanonbo-ru**–Earth Release: Stone Cannonball

-- -

Next Time: A Deal is Made


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I once owned the rights to Naruto, but I lost them to Kishimoto in a game of go fish that took place over an active volcano... I can't back that up. It's complete BS. On with the show!

**Rivers of Hades**

_Chapter 17_

-- -

"Alright, Naruto, let's take a break."

"Yeah, sure, but why are you training me, Kakashi? What about your team?"

"Sasuke will be in the hospital until sometime after the Exams, and Sai, for some reason, turned down my offer to help him. He said he preferred to train on his own."

"What about Sakura?"

"Actually, I completely forgot about her." At this, Naruto shot Kakashi a disbelieving look. "Alright, alright. She's undertaking a personal mission vital to continuing her career in service to Konoha, something only she can do."

Naruto's eyebrows shot up. "What kind of mission?"

"Sakura... has absolutely no idea what she wants to do with her career. Just because she is on a team with people who are combat-oriented doesn't mean her path lies there. As her jounin-sensei, it's my responsibility to help her decide. So I spoke to Hokage-sama, and he arranged for her to spend the month before the finals working with professionals in some of the various specialty jobs available for a kunoichi."

"How can that take a month? I mean, the specialties are taijutsu, genjutsu, ninjutsu, kenjutsu, and fuinjutsu, right?"

"Not quite. You're confusing skill specialties with job specialties. I'm talking about things like weapons forging, teaching at the Academy, the medical arts for both humans and ninken, even some of the administrative jobs, like record-keeping and information analysis. That is what Sakura is doing."

"Wow, that actually sounds kind of cool. Too bad they don't do stuff like that for the Academy students or new genin."

"It would probably be a lecture series if anything. If the students were able to choose, odds are, they would flock to the active-duty options. I can't see an Academy student or fresh genin willingly submit themselves to administrative work."

Naruto scratched his chin. "I don't know. If it doesn't involve lots of activity, it would probably be right up Shikamaru's alley."

"Very true. To be honest, few members of the Nara clan remain front-line shinobi after a few years. They either become reserves and focus on their deer or become administrators. But we're getting off topic. You know, I'm curious. Why is it you haven't asked me to teach you **Chidori**? Considering the rate you devour new jutsu at, I thought you would have been begging me to teach it to you ages ago." 

"Well, from what you've told me, it needs a Sharingan to be used effectively, which I don't have, and a fairly strong affinity to lightning, also something I don't have."

"I didn't think that would stop you."

"Call it sensei's influence. I'd love to learn it, but I'd never be able to use it they way it's intended, if at all. Besides, since you're the only person who knows it, I won't have to learn the jutsu in order to find a counter for it."

Kakashi scratched his head. "Fair enough. Now that that's settled, let's get back to work."

"Hey, Kakashi, I have a question. Why do you keep saying you're not much of a teacher? You're doing great as far as I can tell."

"Well, maybe it's not that I'm a bad teacher, it's just that I don't do well with rookies. I guess I've got something in common with Zabuza. We just do better teaching more experienced shinobi. Zabuza lacks the temperament needed to to work with rookies, and I have difficulty relating to how little experience and knowledge they have. Take that lecture I gave you way back when, on the hand seals. Did you understand any of it?"

"Not then, and I'm still kind of shaky on it, to be honest."

"My point exactly. Most jounin don't even know what effect the seals have on a jutsu, and I was trying to teach it to an Academy student. In my shinobi career, I have almost never struggled with anything. As a result, I don't always understand why others struggle with something I find to be dirt simple, and when it comes to training genin, just about everything seems dirt simple from my perspective. Now let's give that jutsu another try."

"Okay, here I go! **Suiton: Daibakufu**!"

Water from a nearby pond began to churn, trying to form itself into the jutsu. It quivered, before it exploded, drenching Naruto and Kakashi.

Naruto spat the water out of his mouth. "Too much chakra?"

"Yep."

--

The next day, Naruto was in Sarutobi's office, helping organize the files. Even though his first priority was preparing for the finals, Naruto still had duties to perform here.

Sarutobi was keeping himself busy so he could ignore the uneasy feeling in his stomach. The ANBU had reported that Kabuto had held a secret late-night meeting with Baki last night. They had intervened to prevent Gekko Hayate from confronting the pair, more than likely saving his life. Shortly, the entire Suna team would be coming to his office. Officially, it was so he could formally apologize for Sasuke's actions. Unofficially, he would be trying to extract any additional information he could. So far, the evidence pointed to some plot between Orochimaru and Suna, but he wanted something concrete. It was a result of being a man of peace; you tend to want undeniable proof before making any sort of decision that could lead to violence.

He wanted Naruto there primarily give the appearance that there was nothing out of the ordinary going on. Naruto had formed some sort of bond with the youngest sibling, and his presence would go a long way to keeping a light atmosphere. However, Sarutobi wasn't looking forward to the consequences should things go badly. He knew it was difficult for Naruto to make new friends, and a friendship with a ninja from another village was a double-edged sword. It could help build good relations between the villages, which was almost universally a good thing in Sarutobi's book. On the other hand, it was also not uncommon for one person to use that friendship to pump the other for information that could later be used against them or their village.

A knock at the door roused Sarutobi from his thoughts. Naruto opened it and let the four Suna nin inside.

"Welcome, and thank you for coming."

"Thank you for asking us here, Hokage-sama."

"Yes well, please take a seat. Tell me, how are things in Suna?"

Baki stiffened. "We are surviving, despite the daimyo's decision to begin contracting other villages to take missions that normally would have gone to Suna."

"Ah, I see. In all honesty, I still don't understand what made him decide to begin doing such a thing."

Baki's eyes flicked over to Naruto. "It happened after the affair involving the Uzumaki."

Sarutobi and Naruto both blinked. "I was under the impression that since she willingly chose to join in the fight, Suna was not liable for her death."

"That was the official decision. However, after what happened, the daimyo began to question our capabilities. If Suna couldn't handle a simple C-Rank escort and protection mission, how could we successfully handle the higher ranked missions? After that, he began directing missions of B-Rank and up to other villages, with other nobles and clients following suit. Kazekage-sama still spits acid when the name Uzumaki is mentioned."

"That is regrettable. I wish your Kazekage were more willing to accept Konoha's help. Alas, all that I can do is offer to return your missions to you. I can not make your Kazekage take them."

All four Suna nin focused intently on Sarutobi. "Hokage-sama, what do you mean when you said you made an offer to return our missions?"

"You weren't aware? For the last fifteen years, both myself and Yondaime Hokage have tried to reroute those missions back to Sunagakure, only to be stopped by the Kazekage."

"Why would the Kazekage do such a thing? He would be purposely harming Suna by those actions!"

Sarutobi spread his hands as if to shrug. "Your leader is a very proud man. When we asked him that very question, he said that he and, by extension, Suna, would never accept an act of charity from a competing village, especially when said act of charity involved something that was Suna's by right. Even approaching it like a business deal instead of an act of good will between two allies met with failure. He was, and still is, determined to have missions be contracted directly to Suna from the client or not at all."

Baki cleared his throat. "That is a fascinating story, Hokage-sama, but you can't expect us to believe your word over Kazekage-sama's so easily. Can you offer proof that any of this is true?"

"No. It is a case of my word against his, and I admit that. Still, if there were any way that Konoha could help, we would."

The Suna nin looked at each other. The Kazekage had always said that Konoha was refusing to return the missions, that was one of the reasons for their participation in the invasion. Yet here was the Hokage, saying that their leader was the reason their village was suffering. They couldn't deny that it was well within character for the Kazekage to stubbornly refuse something and then make excuses or blame the other party. But would he knowingly condemn his village over his pride?

Of course he would. He had done much the same thing with Gaara. He had made a costly mistake, and rather than admit fault and try to make amends, he tried to erase it completely, even if it cost the lives of his other two children.

"It is too bad that we can't come to some arrangement, Hokage-sama. Suna would welcome the return of our missions, despite Kazekage-sama's opinions to the contrary."

Sarutobi decided then and there to go for the direct approach. "Perhaps we can make a deal, Baki-san. Tell me, what is going on between my traitorous student Orochimaru and Suna?"

Seeing the Suna nin startle, Sarutobi continued, all business now. "Come now. I am well aware of your meeting last night with Yakushi Kabuto, who has been confirmed as a spy for Orochimaru. What is going on?"

Baki winced, knowing that one way or another, he would be forced to commit treason. "If... if I tell you, will you consider putting Suna's missions back on the bartering table?"

"They have never been taken off. If the Kazekage ever changed his mind, or if a new Kazekage was put into office, all they would have to do is ask, and we would sit down and begin hammering out details. As for negotiating now, that would depend on what information you give me."

"A-alright... Orochimaru is the leader of Otogakure, and he and Kazakage-sama have made an arrangement where the combined forces of both villages will attack during the Exam finals."

"I was expecting something of that nature. Among other things, he wishes to destroy the village and kill me, in no particular order. Tell me, how did he convince the Kazekage to aid him?"

"He promised the return of all our missions, as well as increased status for the village, for aiding in the destruction of Konoha, long heralded as the strongest of the shinobi villages, in front of some of the most influential people there are."

"So the Kazekage intends to take by force what has been offered freely for over a decade. Such a pity."

"The attack is set to begin at the beginning of Gaara's match. His opening attack is the signal."

"Very well. Let us begin to make a deal. In exchange for Suna's neutrality in the invasion, I am prepared to offer you the mission we have received that should have gone to Suna."

Baki blinked. "With all due respect, Hakage-sama, that is not much of an offer. You are asking us to change our stance, offering the same things as the deal Suna has already made."

"Yes, but as it stands, you would incur a rather sizable loss of life among your ranks of experienced shinobi in the process. One you can't afford if you were to regain the missions. I am offering the chance to regain the missions without the loss of life. However, if the Suna forces were to come to Konoha's aid rather than Oto's, the rewards would be that much greater."

"What exactly would these greater rewards be, that would make us rally to Konoha?"

"A complete overhaul on the treaty of alliance between our two countries."

The Suna nin were shocked silent. That was no small task, considering the daimyo of both countries would need to be involved.

"Why would you do such a thing?"

"It is something long overdue. That treaty has been in effect for over thirty-five years and not once has it been revised or amended. Large portions of it no longer affect either village. In exchange for Suna's help, we would reforge an alliance more suited to our current needs. I know you are the Kazekage's second-in-command. He would entrust no other with the training of his children. What do you say?"

Baki sighed dramatically. "You have me in a very tight spot, Hokage-sama. I can't, in good conscience, have Suna nin throw their lives away when I know a peaceful solution is within reach. On the other hand, you are asking me to commit treason against my leader."

"I am asking you to do what is in the best interest of your village and your fellow nin. When he took office, your Kazekage took an oath to always act in the best interest of his village and those he leads. He has broken his oath to all of you. What loyalty do you owe him?"

Naruto had sat in silence throughout the entire conversation. He wasn't sure what to think right now. Everything was a jumble in his head. The invasion thing was surprising, but what really got to him was how his sensei was acting. He had never seen the old man this tough before. It wasn't a look or an act of toughness, it was indescribable. The man Naruto had always known as the benevolent and even-handed village leader was gone, replaced completely by a stranger who was tough as nails and would do anything to get what he wanted. This wasn't his sensei, this was the _Hokage_.

"Hokage-sama, what you are asking of us can be done with only minor difficulty. I would need to deal with some of the Kazekage's more ardent supporters, but that is easy, and the others will follow my lead. So, though I am betraying my leader, I will throw my support behind Konoha. However, if I am to convince the others, I will need proof of your intentions."

"No problem." Sarutobi reached down into a desk drawer, and pulled out a large green scroll, along with blank paper, pen and ink. "Here are all the missions Konoha has received since the beginning of the month that would normally have gone to Suna. I am giving this to you as proof that I would honor the deal should Suna's forces be neutral."

Writing a message down on the blank paper, Sarutobi then signed it and used his personal seal on it. "This is a written document, stating that should Suna rise to Konoha's aid, I will contact the daimyo of both our countries about renegotiating the treaty. Will that be sufficient?"

Baki's hands were twitching at the mission scroll. "Hokage-sama, the mission scroll alone would be more than enough, but I will take both."

"Very well." Sarutobi turned to Naruto. "Naruto, why don't you take your fellow genin here to get something to eat and find some entertainment? Baki-san and I need to discuss some specifics and it may take a while."

"Hai, sensei."

"Whatever you decide to do, the Hokage's office will pay for, within reason."

"Are you sure, sensei?"

"Consider it a training exercise. One of the duties of a Kage and their assistants is to entertain visiting dignitaries. They qualify, so whatever you do can be considered a business expense. Now go on, shoo!"

The four genin stood, bowed to the two senior ninja, and left. After the door shut, Baki commented to Sarutobi, "Hokage-sama, your student is something else."

Sarutobi grinned. "I think so too, on occasion. What makes you feel that way, if I may ask?"

"You have read the report about what happened between Gaara and your student while he was escorting us here? Well, ever since, Gaara's personality has started changing slightly, especially where Temari and Kankurou are concerned."

"Really? How so?"

"Until recently, Gaara would attack anyone, friend or foe, on a whim. Now, he has begun to act over-protectively of them both."

"I wouldn't think that was such a bad thing, to want to protect one's siblings and teammates."

"It isn't. I want to encourage it, but he's taking it to an extreme. He has stated, in no uncertain terms, that if anyone were to raise a hand against either Temari or Kankurou, he would take great pleasure in wiping them from existence. That is my problem with his new attitude. They are both Suna shinobi, not porcelain dolls. Getting hurt is a risk they accepted when they put on the hitai-ate."

"If you want some advice, give him time, and he may calm down and accept that."

--

The four genin had just exited the tower when Gaara pulled to a stop. He was looking intensely annoyed, and wisps of sand were flowing around him.

"I need to do something before we start making plans. Alone." With that, he disappeared in a cloud of sand. Seconds later, the three remaining genin heard the sound of a tree being forcibly uprooted, then thrown into more trees coming from a nearby training ground. Naruto was about to hightail it over there to investigate, but Temari and Kankurou held him back.

"What gives, you guys?"

"Trust us, if you show up there right now, you would be nothing more than a blood stain in about five seconds flat. Gaara's... venting, and should be left alone until he's done, if you know what's good for you. In the meantime, let's keep others from poking their noses in."

As they slowly approached the training ground, Naruto spoke up. "Does he do this stuff often?"

At this, the two older genin shared a nervous look. "Actually, until Gaara met you, he was more likely to 'vent' on people and animals, not inanimate objects."

They had gotten close enough where they could hear bits and pieces of Gaara talking to himself over the sounds of the destruction he was causing.

"How dare he! What he did to me was bad enough, but doing it because he couldn't bring himself to ask for help from a village that we are allied with? The next time I see him, I will feed him to my sand!"

Then, as soon as it had started, Gaara's destruction therapy session ended, and he appeared next to the other genin in another cloud of sand, his normal blank expression back in place.

"I feel better now. Let's eat." His companions dumbly nodded, slightly confused by the sudden change in attitude.

Before they left for a restaurant, Naruto sent a **Kage Bunshin** back to tell the Hokage that the training ground Gaara had used was in need of some serious landscaping. He had checked, it was a wasteland now.

--

At the restaurant they had decided on, Temari asked a question that she had been thinking about since the Hokage's office.

"Hey Uzumaki," When she had Naruto's attention, she continued, "This has been bugging me. How on earth did your clan get one daimyo, let alone five, to act as middlemen for them in dealing with the major villages? Nobody has that much clout!"

"Well," Naruto began, "I wondered about that too. I never knew my mother or the Uzumaki clan. Hell, I didn't even know about either one until I was ten. I was sent on a mission to my clan home a while back, and I've kept in contact with some of the villagers who live in the area. From them, I've gotten enough information to put something together."

"So? Go on!"

"Near the village the Uzumaki clan called home is a port town, one that gets a lot of merchant traffic, both land and sea-based. If a sea-faring merchant wanted armed guards for their cargo, they would go to the nearest source, the Uzumaki."

"They could have gotten civilian guards or hired from an established village. Why go to the Uzumaki?"

"For one thing, the Uzumaki were right there, not even a half-day's walk from the port. Second, since they weren't affiliated with a shinobi village, their rates were cheaper, and we all know how merchants like cheap things."

At the nods, Naruto continued, "Finally, there are the Uzumaki clan jutsu, designed especially for use on open water."

Kankurou stared disbelievingly at Naruto. "Are you telling us that your clan had jutsu just for traveling on seas and oceans?"

"Yep. A lot of the jutsu unique to my clan are useless anywhere else. The most commonly used ones would bring wind on calm days or calm stormy weather in a given area. There are also offensive and defensive jutsu too."

"So how does all this tie into my question?"

"I'm getting there. Now, because of this, the Uzumaki became the go-to clan for sea merchants. That's part of the reason Kiri hated my clan so much. If it weren't for the Uzumaki, Kiri would be getting those missions. Anyway, sea merchants do business with land-based merchants to distribute their goods inland, giving the Uzumaki business connections just about anywhere there's buying and selling. And since even a daimyo needs goods from merchants, when the clan needed asylum, all they had to do was pull the right strings, and the daimyo of the five great countries contracted the major villages to give my clan that asylum."

Temari arched an eyebrow. "And what about the loss of Suna's missions? How does that fit in with your clan?"

Naruto started waving his hands in front of himself defensively, seeing Gaara and Kankurou focus a little more intensely on him. "Hey, we had nothing to do with that! When the missions were contracted, each one of the villages received an increase in funding. The Third Shinobi War was going on, so the money was needed. If the assigned clan member died under the village's protection from something that could have been prevented, the penalty was the loss of the extra funding, not losing missions. That's your daimyo overreacting! Besides, you heard my sensei! Suna was not at fault for her death! She chose to join in the fight of her own free will."

Temari smirked. "Relax, I was just teasing. The Kazekage may be our father, but we haven't much respect for him for a long time, as a father or a leader. If what the Hokage said is true and word gets out, he won't get much support from the rest of the village."

That settled, the four Genin started eating.

--

Weeks later, the time had come. Naruto was so nervous he was twitching. Today was a day that he both wanted over and had hoped wouldn't come. Today was the day of the invasion. The Hokage had kept him out of the loop for most of the planning, but he still had a general idea of what was going on.

The Suna forces had enthusiastically agreed to Sarutobi's offer. Baki had dealt with those loyal to the Kazekage, and now his biggest problem was keeping the Suna nin from going after the man themselves before the invasion tipped their hand.

Zabuza, once informed of what was going to happen, got hold of Naruto and started drilling into him some of the exercises taught in the Kiri Academy that conditioned the students for the former deadly graduation exam. Naruto was too old for them to have the full effect, according to Zabuza, but at least he wouldn't freeze up.

Naruto was standing in the contestant's booth trying to calm his nerves, when the Hokage's voice rang out.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the final round of the Chuunin Exams! If you will please take your seats, we will begin shortly."

-- -

Next time: War Comes to Konoha


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. Wouldn't want to, really. Seems like a lot of work.

**Rivers of Hades**

_Chapter 18_

The assembled crowd watched in silence as Sai walked out of the arena under his own power. His match with Tenten had been extremely hard-fought, and only got harder seeing how evenly matched the two combatants were. In the end, Tenten had been able to keep him at a distance, forcing him to waste chakra on his ink beasts, which were promptly dispelled.

"Will Nara Shikamaru and Hyuuga Hinata please make their way to the arena? The second match is about to start."

Naruto gripped the railing of the combatants box. He was incredibly nervous about what was going to happen to his fellow Konoha genin. None of them knew about the invasion. Sarutobi, sensing his unease, had explained why they were not to be told. In order for their counter-plan to work, they had to give the appearance that they did not know about the invasion. The other genin lacked the experience needed to hold back and at the same time appear to be giving it their all. Sarutobi had slightly calmed Naruto's fears by reassuring him that his fellow genin were to be evacuated to various secured locations, such as the hospital and civilian shelters. With any luck, only a few genin, himself included, would see combat today.

Looking down, he saw Hinata and Shikamaru's fight begin. At first, it started out like one would expect from a fight between a close-range fighter and a mid- to long- range fighter, with Shikamaru doing his best to keep Hinata from getting close to him and Hinata looking for an opening while avoiding his attacks. Eventually, Hinata resorted to shuriken and kunai in an attempt to distract him and create the opening she needed. Shikamaru, however, moved only enough to avoid being hit, never taking his eyes off Hinata. As the match went on, Hinata eventually let her guard down, and was caught by Shikamaru's shadow.

Hinata, however, was not going down without a fight. Struggling against the Nara's jutsu, she attempted to make Shikamaru imitate her movement instead of the other way around. With a great effort, she managed to make Shikamaru open his kunai holster and pull one out. She tried to make Shikamaru hold it to his own neck so he would drop the **Kage Mane**, but the crafty Nara was able to reassert control, ending the match in his favor.

--

In between the second and third matches, the Kazekage turned to face Sarutobi.

"Well, I must admit, it seems the next generation of Konoha shinobi has a great amount of potential. I can only hope my three children can prove themselves a worthy match."

"I have no doubt your three genin will make an impressive showing."

"I am especially looking forward to the final match, my son Gaara versus your newest student, Uzumaki Naruto. After all, from what I understand, they are considered the two most powerful genin competing today."

"Naruto-kun is talented, I freely admit that. However, he does have his weak points, as do we all."

"So you are saying the rumors of his skill are overrated?"

"He is skilled, but his field experience is lacking compared to that of some of the others, most notably your genin. One of the disadvantages of having a Kage for a sensei."

"Surely you could have sent him on missions with another genin team."

"I could have, and I have done just that on numerous occasions, but I still feel that there are certain things that I, as his official sensei, need to be there for, so his combat experience is not what it should be, considering his abilities. Unfortunately, there are certain roadblocks to allowing a village leader to go on a mission, or to take his student on a training trip to an undisclosed location for an unspecified amount of time."

The Kazekage let out a barking laugh. "True, very true. I would love to go on a combat mission at times, just for a change."

Sarutobi smiled and turned to face the arena. "Ah, the third match is about to begin."

Unseen by the Kazekage, Sarutobi gave a secret signal to the proctor, instructing him to call an intermission after the fight. Orochimaru had just given himself up, and he probably wasn't even aware of it.

--

It was the unspoken opinion of most of the observers that Lee did not stand a chance. A ninja capable of using only taijutsu moves winning against a long-range specialist was not even a consideration in their minds. Which was why many jaws fell open when the match got underway.

The instant the proctor said 'Hajime', Lee was gone, dashing towards Temari. Lee apparently hadn't even bothered to put on his weights,and Naruto could see why. That way, he wouldn't have to waste precious time removing them, leaving him vulnerable to attack.

Lee's speed enabled him to avoid most of Temari's wind attacks, as well as make some attacks of his own, until Temari began anticipating where Lee would move. Then, her attacks began making contact more often. She was grinding her teeth together all the while.

'_How in the hell is this possible? No one should be this fast, it just isn't natural! Damn! Here, I'm confined to the arena, where normally I'd start putting enough distance between us to really let loose. This close together, I could get caught up in my own attack, and that sure as hell would be embarrassing._'

Eventually, Lee's speed caught up to him. He got too close to Temari, who collapsed her fan and swung it as hard as she could at Lee's head, connecting solidly. Lee crumpled, and Temari won, though not without some damage to her fan. Once she was back in the competitor's booth, she pulled out a tool kit and set to work fixing the large dent made when she hit Lee, as well as checking for additional damage. Without her fan, she would be at an even bigger disadvantage than she was during her fight with Lee.

--

Sarutobi stood and stretched after the proctor made the announcement.

"Ah, I needed that. I will return shortly, Kazekage-sama."

"Very well, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi made his way to a predetermined spot. Jiraiya and Baki were waiting for him.

"Is everything ready for what is to come?"

"Yep, sensei. We just need to find the snake."

"That won't be necessary. I've already located him. He's sitting next to me in the private booth."

"What?" Baki was confused.

"My former student developed a jutsu which allows him to peel off a person's face and wear it as a mask. He always was a talented impersonator, but this is too much. My guess is that the real Yondaime Kazekage has been dead for some time, and Orochimaru has been leading Sunagakure under his guise."

"What gave him away sensei?"

"Orochimaru made two very small mistakes. Baki-san had informed me previously that the Kazekage would rather eat glass shards that say the name Uzumaki with anything other than anger and loathing. He did just that. In the same sentence, he also acknowledged Gaara as his son, something that based upon what I understand of the history between the two, he would not do."

Baki was beside himself. "I... I don't know how to feel about this. On one hand, I am somewhat relieved, because we are no longer committing treason, and depending on how long this has been going on, we may not have committed it at all. On the other, our leader is dead, murdered and impersonated by a man posing as a potential ally, and apparently no one has noticed. This disturbs me greatly with what that could mean."

"After today, Orochimaru will not be a problem. Jiraiya, do you have that seal we discussed?"

Jiraiya pulled out a small square of paper. "Here you go, sensei. I'm surprised you're taking this route, though. I was sure you would want to face Orochimaru."

"I do want to face him, but in this case, I am willing to trade that for assurance of his death. This village needs a leader more than I need closure."

"Well, this seal will virtually guarantee the death of anyone caught in it, which could include you if you're not careful, sensei."

"I will be careful. I had best be heading back to the arena now."

--

The fourth match was finished. Kankuro and Shino had both made a spectacular showing, employing a wide variety of tactics and tricks. As soon as one had seemed to gain the advantage, the other made it disappear. In the end, Shino's Kikai were able to corner Kankuro, who threw in the towel before he was drained and became useless. Up in a private observation booth separate from the Kage booth, Zabuza made several notes on a scoring sheet. Next to him, a Suna jounin was doing the same. They were judging the matches on how ready each combatant was skill-wise for the chuunin rank.

When he had heard that Naruto would be participating as an alternate, he approached the Hokage about whether or not he would still be one of the judges due to potential accusations of bias, which the Hokage admitted was a valid concern. However, as Naruto's promotion wouldn't depend on his performance in the finals, but on an entirely different set of standards, there wouldn't be any problems as long as Gaara was judged fairly. Later, with the revelation of the invasion, this match was really just for show now. Zabuza honestly pitied the people who had bet on this match. Since the match wouldn't be finished uninterrupted, all bets would be void and non refundable, and the odds of there being a rematch were unlikely.

--

"The final match: Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha against Sabaku no Gaara of Suna!"

Loud, raucous cheers erupted from the crowd at the announcement. Although some spectators didn't want to admit it, these two were widely considered the two most powerful genin in the Exams, and the most likely to be promoted.

A hush fell over the crowd as the two ninja faced each other. Killing intent immediately began pouring out of both of them. Some audience members swore they saw lightning bolts jump back and forth between the two.

Down in the arena, Naruto was straining. He was still a novice when it came to generating killing intent. He needed to build up a head of steam before he could even make the attempt, as opposed to people like Gaara and his various teachers, who were able to do it at will. This whole idea of putting everyone on edge before the match had been Gaara's idea. According to him, at the first move, someone would place the entire stadium under a sleep genjutsu, with the invaders being ready for it. However, if the two of them were to generate enough killing intent to put the audience on edge, it would be harder for the genjutsu, which was meant to soothe everyone until they fell asleep, to take effect, not to mention easier to detect and break.

"Combatants ready? Hajime!"

With arms crossed, sand began to flow from Gaara's gourd, forming into a giant fist. As if it had a mind of its own, the fist rose into air, high above the walls of the stadium. It came down with a mighty surge towards Naruto, who dodged the attack neatly. Cries could be heard from all areas. The invasion had begun.

--

In the Kage's box,the Kazekage turned to Sarutobi.

"Time to die, old man!"

"Yes, it is time for you to die, Orochimaru," replied the Sandaime, without even turning to face the other man.

Steel shutters slammed down over the open air window and the only door, followed by a blue glow encasing the entire booth.

"What kind of joke is this, sensei? You are trapped in here with me!"

"Only you have been caught. I have not. This room will be the last thing you ever see. Goodbye, foolish apprentice." With that, Sarutobi dispersed in a puff of smoke.

"A **Kage Bunshin**! Very well!" Turning to his guards, he shouted, "Break down the walls!"

Their reply was, "We've been trying, Orochimaru-sama! When we mold chakra, it gets sucked away."

Orochimaru paused, noting the drain on his chakra, even though he wasn't molding it. "I see. A containment seal combined with a chakra-draining seal. My idiot former teammate's work, no doubt."

One of his guards began to spasm violently, collapsing to the floor, where he continued to flail his arms and legs uselessly. Then, he stopped.

Orochimaru stepped over to the body and knelt down, removing the guards disguise. What he saw sent a chill down his spine. The skin had taken on an ashen color, with the veins standing out.

"Damn! He's had his chakra completely drained away. Jiraiya deliberately removed the safety setting that prevents it from killing those under the effect of the seal!"

Behind him, he heard another of the Sound Four succumb to the seal, noting that the drain on his chakra had intensified. As the strongest ninja in the room, it would take him the longest to be drained dry. He tried to contact Kabuto through a radio handset, but found his signal blocked. Beginning to feel frustrated (and dare he say it, scared), he finally noticed that he couldn't hear what was happening outside. That could mean either a soundproofing jutsu or seal too. Sensei was sparing no expense for this, it seemed. Knowing him and Jiraiya, the room was probably airtight too. They had completely cut him off, he was now deaf, blind, and mute, isolated from his allies, his jutsu unusable. All they had to do was wait, and he would die. He had been beaten.

"Nooooooooooooooooo!" He screamed, though no one outside could hear it.

--

Outside, it was hell. The Suna forces had attacked Oto from the rear, while Konoha attacked from the front. Trapped between the two villages, Oto nin were being slaughtered. The invasion plan had hinged on Suna's aid and the element of surprise. Without one, it meant trouble. Without both, Oto was doomed.

Naruto was hyperventilating, half out of his mind and covered in blood. He had finally taken a life, five to be exact, and was in shock at what he had done. If it hadn't been for Zabuza giving him a crash course in the Kiri Academy's conditioning exercises, he'd have been a sitting duck. Zabuza had conditioned him to be able to move through crippling fear and pain, as well as the disgust at killing, while Sarutobi, Gai, and Kakashi worked to help him be better able to deal with the inevitable aftermath of his particpation in the invasion. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw sensei showing next to no mercy, moving in ways that, in Naruto's mind, no man in his sixties should be able to. A cry caught Naruto's attention, and he flung two kunai at an Oto nin charging him. They caught him in the torso and neck, taking him down.

Finally, after what Naruto now considered to be the most horrific, nightmarish two hours of his life, the last Oto nin fell. Cheers came up from Suna and Konoha nin alike. A soon as it died down, the senior nin fell to what they knew were their tasks following an invasion. Chuunin began to head into the village, to analyze property damage and loss of life within the village walls. The jounin followed suit, but to scour the village for hidden Oto nin. ANBU were to dispose of the Oto nin after scavenging their corpses for any useful or important items, not to mention seeing to the Konoha dead. The Suna contingent would carry the wounded to the hospital and aid stations, as well as prisoners to interrogation. They would also see to the dead from Suna.

Naruto fell to his hands and knees on the bloody ground and began to wretch, wishing he had something in his stomach just so he could throw up. He felt a hand on his back and looked up to see Sarutobi, with a look that held both pride and sorrow on his face.

"Come, Naruto, let's get out of here."

Helping him to stand, Sarutobi formed a quick, familiar set of seals, and they were gone.

--

They reappeared on an undamaged roof in the village. Sarutobi motioned for Naruto to sit, which the boy did, as if he were in a trance.

Sarutobi heaved a great sigh. "Naruto, I'm truly sorry you had to go through that. It's something I don't want anyone to ever have to go though if it can be avoided.

"Most sensei have a speech or lecture that they have prepared for the occasion of their student's first taking of a life. Personally, I always found such things rather dry and useless. Instead, I'd like to tell you a story."

"Sensei, no offense, but I'm not really in the mood."

"I know you aren't, but please listen anyway. This story is rather important to me, and I hope it might help you. It's the story of the first time I took the life of another human being."

Naruto's head snapped up.

"I was about Konohamaru's age. The village was still taking shape then. The only defensive fortification we had was a fence encircling everything. The walls you see surrounding the village now were just starting to be built. One night, a bunch of bandits and ninja slipped past the watch and into the village, intent on putting an end to Konoha before it even started.

"I was woken up by my mother's scream from downstairs. I rushed down to see her on the floor, a bandit standing over her with a knife in his hand. I grabbed the nearest thing I could could, a lamp of some sort, and threw it at the man. I missed him completely, alerting him to my presence. He grabbed me and threw me into our kitchen. He followed me in, intent on killing me. I saw a knife on the counter and grasped it. He laughed at me, standing there, trying to defend myself as best a scared eight year old could. He had a longer reach than I, and he struck. He laid my left arm open to the bone from the shoulder to my elbow." At this, Sarutobi rolled up his sleeve to show the scar, long since healed.

"He moved in close to kill me, while I was stunned by the pain. Right as he was about to deal the final blow, I swung my knife. I caught him in the neck, right across the jugular. He fell on top of me and bled out all over me. I was as covered in blood as you are now, and just as horrified. In a panic, I pushed him off and ran out the door, screaming my head off."

Sarutobi paused, remembering that night in vivid detail. "That was when I met the Brothers, as the Shodai and Nidaime were known back then, for the first time. They stopped me, dressed my wounds, and found out what happened. They calmed me down from my hysteria, and in the middle of the street, in front of everyone, they told me that I had done the right thing in acting as I did. That no one would think poorly of my killing the bandit because I did it to save the lives of myself, my family, and everything I held dear.

I didn't believe it at first, and didn't eat or sleep for almost two weeks afterwards. I was almost admitted to the hospital to keep me from killing myself one way or another, when they paid me another visit. They walked with me through the village, and made me look at the reactions I got. They were absolutely right. They all looked sorry for what I had gone through, but not one of them looked down on me. The other children were a little more wary of me, but not too badly. Once again, they told me that I had been in the right, and that if anyone spoke ill of me for taking a life in direct defense of what mattered most to me, then their opinion was worthless.

"It was a life changing realization, that it was possible to take a life and still be a good person. Up to that point, I had never considered becoming a ninja. I didn't want to be a killer, someone who took lives without hesitation or mercy. I made an almost instantaneous recovery, and the Brothers continued to visit, taking me under their wings, teaching me, training me, helping me to become the man I am today."

"Does... does it ever go away?"

"No, Naruto my boy, it never truly goes away. I still have nightmares about that night. Other villages teach their ninja to repress what they feel, to kill their hearts, as it were. Konoha does not encourage thatt, has never encouraged it. We live with what we have done every day of our lives, and because of that, we have a better understanding of the value of a life. Konoha is a vibrant village, full of life, because we teach that a life should not be taken needlessly. That is also a central belief of your clan, I believe, that though on occasion a life must be taken, it should never feel commonplace."

Sarutobi swept his arms out. "I know that right now you're questioning your career choice. Look around, Naruto and see just why we do what we do."

Naruto turned around and looked down. He saw families tearfully reuniting. He watched Hinata and Hanabi rush towards Hiashi, who immediately knelt down and swept them into a tight hug, none of the three caring about the blood and gore on his clothing, none of which was his own. By this point, Naruto had figured out that Hiashi wasn't exactly the type for hugs and kisses, especially in public, so the dramatic change really hammered the Sandaime's point home.

"The feeling that you have become something less than human for killing another person will never truly fade. But it will get better; with time, by talking it out, and with the acceptance of others. I have no doubt that you will be able to get through this. Now, let's be on our way, my boy. I have some long over-due business to attend to."

--

After dropping Naruto off at the Hokage's office and applying a jutsu to induce a deep, dreamless sleep to the boy, Sarutobi made his way back to the arena, joined along the way by Jiraiya, Anko, and two ANBU. Arriving outside the Kage booth, Jiraiya made a few hand seals, and the wall and door stopped glowing blue. Sarutobi then knelt down and pried loose a floor tile near the door. On the underside was a small piece of paper, which he peeled off and handed to Jiraiya. He stood, made hand seals of his own, and the steel shutters retracted.

Everyone braced themselves, not knowing what to expect on the other side. One ANBU opened the door, revealing the corpses of Orochimaru and his guard. Quickly and without hesitation, Sarutobi rushed into the room, a kunai in hand. Moving directly to Orochimaru, he removed the Kazekage disguise and thrust the kunai into Orochimaru's heart, twisted it, and ripped the kunai free. He did the same to the throat. Finally, Sarutobi's hand came to hover over Orochimaru's head. With a mighty downswing, the kunai pierced the skull. The Sandaime wiggled the blade around inside, scrambling the brain, before snapping the kunai at the hilt, leaving the blade inside the skull. Jiraiya silently handed him a large storage scroll, which the body was sealed into.

Sarutobi turned, and after struggling to find his voice, said, "Anko, I am assigning you the duty of performing the autopsy, as well as overseeing the destruction of the body. Jiraiya and I will be there to act as witnesses for the latter."

"Understood, Hokage-sama, though I still wish I had been the one to kill him."

"I know, which is why I am adding this catch. So long as a thorough autopsy is conducted, and everything, every body part and drop of bodily fluid, can be accounted for when the body is destroyed by midnight tonight, you are free to do whatever you wish to him in the time in between."

Anko snapped to attention. "Yes sir, Hokage-sama! I'll get started right away!" She hadn't expected the Sandaime to give her permission to go hog wild on Orochimaru's corpse. Even the limitations he had given her were more than enough for her. Sarutobi had never once doubted her loyalty, and she wasn't about to let him down now. A giddy grin on her face, she took the scroll from the Sandaime's hand and bolted from the room. Jiraiya and Sarutobi silently left, heading back to the office, where they would await the status reports and further comfort Naruto. The ANBU would dispose of the other bodies.

--

That night, Jiraiya and Sarutobi made their way to a secret basement of the Interrogation Department, where the bodies of high-profile ninja were autopsied and destroyed.

They had chosen to not wake Naruto as soon as they got back, and instead began to make preparations for what they would need to do. Sarutobi called Baki to his office, where they contacted both the Wind and Fire daimyo, informing them of their intent to renegotiate the alliance, and asking them for their blessing to continue. Both agreed, and a time was set for the opening of negotiations.

After the two daimyo left, Sarutobi and Baki sat down and began to make plans to build on the new mutual good will between their villages. The terms that were worked out were satisfactory to both sides. Suna would take some of Konoha's missions while the village rebuilt.

Mission payments were to be divided into two basic categories: the money paid to the ninja who took the mission and the money paid to the village. The Suna nin would get the full mission payment, while Konoha, as the village originally contracted, would take a percentage of the village's cut. Suna would get the rest. Baki and the Sandaime also began discussing the possibility of a joint-village mission to eradicate Oto, based on what the interrogators could get from the prisoners.

Sarutobi had also cleared Zabuza and Haku for active duty, waiving whatever time was left on their confinement to the village under the headings of 'good behavior' and 'service to the village'. Despite the estimated low loss of life count, the village would still need every able-bodied shinobi on active duty for the foreseeable future. He was also highly impressed with how rapidly Haku had improved now that he was no longer on the run with Zabuza and could eat, sleep and train regularly. Some of the preliminary reports had seen Oto nin dead of various cold-related causes. Some had succumbed to extreme hypothermia, others killed directly by the boy's Hyoton jutsu. A few were even frozen solid.

Finally, the two reached their destination. Walking inside, Jiraiya and Sarutobi found Anko sitting on a stool, rubbing her neck over her curse seal, while staring at the autopsy table holding the mutilated and now almost completely unrecognizable body of Orochimaru.

"Something wrong Anko?"

"No, Hokage-sama. I guess I was just hoping that when the bastard died, the seal would disappear. Let's get started, shall we?"

"Alright. Where do you want to start?"

"Well, seeing as how I didn't contact you before I was ready to destroy the body, this is really Orochimaru, not a body double. I compared a blood sample, and it matched, but there were some anomalies, so I tested the summoning tattoo. It was authentic, and while I wouldn't put it past him to let a body double sign the contract just to add to the disguise, it isn't like him."

Jiraya commented, "You have a point. He wouldn't share power or knowledge unless he was damn sure he would be in complete control at all times."

"Speaking of power and knowledge, I found some real goodies hidden on his body." Gesturing to a nearby table, the two men saw a sheathed sword and three scrolls. "The sword was sealed in a summoning tattoo on the inside of his cheek. From what I know about swords, I'm guessing it's the Kusanagi, and is coated in some really nasty poisons."

The men's eyes widened. "The Kusanagi? I wonder where he found that. What about the scrolls?"

"The scrolls are jutsu scrolls for his immortality jutsu, the **Edo Tensei**, and the curse seal. They were contained in seals hidden in the snake contract tattoo."

Sarutobi sighed and hung his head. "Damn. So he did finish those jutsu."

Anko nodded slowly. "Yeah. I'm guessing he used the immortality technique, and that's what caused the anomalies."

"Jiraiya, take the scroll for the curse seal. I want you to see what new information you can glean from it, then destroy it. I want the other two scrolls destroyed with the body."

"Sensei, are you sure that will do any good?"

"I do. These jutsu were central to Orochimaru's goals. I would be very surprised if he would leave authentic copies of these three jutsu anywhere out of his sight, where someone could take them and use them against him. Maybe bit and pieces, but I doubt that there are other copies of the completed jutsu."

"I see your point. It also gives us more reason to start seeking out his bases immediately, so we can ensure no one picks up where he left off."

"Yes. Anko, start the incinerator. The sooner we destroy his body, the sooner we can start destroying his work."

Once the incinerator reached the hottest temperature it could, the three shinobi most hurt by his betrayal stood around his body, not saying a word. As one, they lifted his body and chucked it into the flames. The two scrolls soon followed, almost instantly reduced to ash. Last, Anko threw in the medical bags containing all the bodily fluids she had drained from him. Shutting the thick door, the three silently watched the fire consume the body.

Finally, Sarutobi spoke. "What a waste. I would suppose that it is fitting that he didn't receive death in combat, but spent his last hours trapped, dying slowly and painfully. Kami only knows how many of his test subjects died that way."

With that, the three left, leaving the incinerator on to ensure the total destruction of one of Konoha's most infamous traitors.

– -

Next Time: Aftermath

AN: I've forgotten how many times I've rewritten this chapter, trying to get it right. I only hope the next one isn't this tough to finish.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: Not sure what things I really do own, but I'm pretty sure Naruto isn't one of them.

AN: My deepest apologies. I could have sworn I had posted this months ago. I'll try to add the next chapter soon, but I make no promises.

**Rivers of Hades**

_Chapter 19_

– -

Naruto made his way towards the Hokage's office. A month had passed since the invasion, and the village was quickly recovering. Damage to the village had been light, confined mostly to the walls of the village and the buildings closest to them. Loss of life had been blessedly small for Suna and Konoha. Naruto had felt a sick sense of relief in that he hadn't known any of them.

The negotiations were going smoothly. The Wind daimyo was willing to give Suna another chance and agreed to start contracting Suna for more higher rank missions. If Suna continued to perform satisfactorily, he would continue to increase their funding and send more missions their way.

Because he wasn't involved with the negotiations, Naruto had plenty of free time. He spent it doing light training or helping with the reconstruction. He also found himself spending a lot of time with either Haku or the Suna genin.

Personally, he was still dealing with the after-effects of what he had done. He had thought he had been prepared for what had happened, but committing the actual deed threw it all out the window. Maybe if he could just get out of the village for a while, he'd be able to make more progress.

Reaching the office door, he knocked, and waited for acknowledgment to enter.

--

Sarutobi wasn't alone in his office when Naruto entered. Baki, the Suna genin, Shino, Shikamaru, Zabuza and Haku were there as well. Jiraiya entered the office through the window.

"Ah, good, everyone's here. I thought you all could use a break from helping with recovery efforts, so I have a mission for all of you."

Naruto blinked. Hadn't he just been wanting something like this?

Zabuza spoke up first. "What's the mission, Hokage-sama?"

"With the ongoing recovery efforts and treaty negotiations, I haven't had much time to go through reports from the field. I recently had the time to do so, and discovered that a Konoha ninja out in the field has seemingly ignored the emergency recall orders I issued, the secret one issued before the invasion, and the public one sent out after. I want to know why, and given the ninja in question, it would be best that I go meet them personally. According to protocol, if I officially leave the village, I must be escorted by either a full ANBU squad, six jounin, eight chuunin, or a combination. All of you will be accompanying me to my destination. Any questions?"

Shikamaru raised his hand. "No offense, Hokage-sama, but isn't a mission like this a little much for genin, even in relative peacetime conditions?"

"That is true. I wouldn't normally consider genin for such a task. However, Naruto has been on an acting Chuunin mission for over a month and a half, which has been deemed a success, so he will be leaving this office with a promotion. The five of you, however, have been deemed worthy of promotion through your performance in the Exams or during the invasion, and will also be leaving for this mission as Chuunin. Congratulations to all of you."

The genin looked at each other in a stunned silence.

"The six of you probably don't realize this, but this is a break from standard procedure. Normally, there is a mandatory instruction period you would be required to complete before receiving your vests, but I am willing to waive that in this instance, as both villages need the higher-ranking personnel at the moment, and those with more experience are needed for client-paid missions. Essentially, all of you have just gotten a field promotion. You will be given the necessary training upon your return. Is there anything else?"

Zabuza nodded. "Yeah, I have some questions. First off, who's the ninja in question?"

"My other student, Tsunade, and her apprentice, Shizune. Tsunade's temper means that only Jiraiya or I have a chance of speaking with her without the situation deteriorating to violence, and even that is a small chance. But still, I feel I must speak with her to find out why she has seen fit to not respond to a grand total of three recall orders."

From the experienced shinobi present, including Jiraiya, he got a shocked silence. Failing to respond to even one recall order was an instant charge of treason, unless they had a _damn_ good excuse. Finally, Jiraiya spoke, "Wait a second. Three? What was the first one?"

"Following the Kyuubi's attack, one of my first actions upon returning to office was to issue a recall order. Tsunade didn't return at that time either. However, she at least responded to it by way of a letter delivered via summon. She and Shizune were in some remote village at the time. The village was suffering some rather nasty disease, and the entire village was to be quarantined for about a year and a half. The two of them were going to be there the entire time, and planned to spend an additional six months in isolation themselves, so they wouldn't start an outbreak. At that time, I investigated the situation, found them to be telling the truth, and accepted that to be a valid reason for them to stay put. As a result, I didn't list them as traitors. This time, I still haven't heard from her, and I am well past annoyed. What is your other question, Zabuza?"

"Do we have any idea on a location?"

Jiraiya answered, "No, we don't. She's gotten really good at staying off the radar in recent years. She gets plenty of practice avoiding people she owes money to. I've got a couple leads, but we'll still be hunting her down."

Facing the six chuunin-to-be, Sarutobi spoke, "We'll meet at the east gate at six tomorrow morning. We've got a lot of ground to cover, and I want to cover as much as possible. We've no idea who or what we will run into out there, so I want you all armed to the teeth. Pack for war and then some. If you can make storage seals, use them. Be warned, though; whatever you pack, you will carry. So I want you to spend the rest of today getting ready."

Reaching into a desk drawer, he removed a storage scroll. Unsealing the contents, he produced six basic chuunin vests, which he handed out. Each village had special insignia that were placed on a vest to denote village of origin and rank within special groups the wearer was a member of. The Academy teachers each had several sets, made to look like textbooks, even if they weren't required to wear them daily.

Seeing an opening, Sarutobi spoke, "I need to speak with Naruto for a moment in private. The rest of you are dismissed."

Once they were alone, Sarutobi stood and walked around to the front of his desk. "I wanted to discuss the changes to your training that will be made once your promotion is final."

"I know I'll have to be more responsible about my personal training. What else is there, sensei?"

"Actually, I was referring to the training for your stated goal, my job. You have a good feel for the day-to-day routine here, and I know I can entrust you to take care of many of those duties if need be. Once you are officially a chuunin, I will be teaching you how to classify missions to their appropriate ranks, as well as assign the right personnel to them. Also, you will start attending the council meetings with me, not to mention the meetings with the department heads. This is all in addition to your regular duties as a chuunin, so personal training time may in short supply for a while. Do you understand?"

"I do, sensei. I have one question, though. I'm not questioning your judgment, but how can I be ready for this promotion? I have almost no field experience."

Sarutobi face broke out into a grin. "Very good. You are learning not to blindly accept things. I was wondering if you would question me on that. The lack of experience is a valid issue that Hiashi and Shibi raised when they signed off on your personal Chuunin Exam, one I had already plans for. I plan on remedying the situation by arranging for you to go on missions with Zabuza and Haku now that they are no longer confined to the village. You will be operating as a three man team most of the time."

"Okay. Well, better go shopping, then. I wonder how Shikamaru will take traveling under full wartime pack. My money's on 'not well'."

"True, it is a lot to carry, especially when we do not have a set destination or a timetable for when we will return, but the pack requirements I stated are standard for escorting a Kage or daimyo, no matter your rank or the fact that we are, hopefully, far from being defenseless ourselves. Now, I believe I have some shopping to do for this trip as well."

--

The next morning, the group met at the gate. Hiashi, Shibi, and Iruka arrived with the Hokage. The younger ninja present looked at him and blinked. Most of them had never seen the man in anything other than the robes and hat of his office. Seeing him dressed almost like a regular jounin was a shock. The only difference between his outfit and the standard jounin uniform was the stitching of 'Fire Shadow' on his vest.

Iruka looked at his three former students, an amused smile on his face. "I still can't believe it. Not even a year out of my class, and three of you are already chuunin. I wonder how the rest of your class will turn out. Congratulations."

The three former genin in question chorused, "Thank you Iruka-sensei."

"Is everyone ready?" asked the Sandaime. At the nods, he turned to Hiashi, Shibi, and Iruka. "I hereby leave this village in your hands until I return." The three men were the ones chosen to fill in for the Hokage while he was out of the village. Hiashi and Shibi were chosen for their experience as council members and clan heads. Iruka, as an active-duty ninja and senior Academy teacher, had administrative experience and was unaffiliated with a clan, shinobi or civilian, not to mention the work he did in the Hokage's office when the Academy wasn't in session. This was the first time three people would fill in for any one Kage at the same time, but Sarutobi reasoned that if he was allowed to divide up his daily work between himself and two clones before doing what he wanted the rest of the day, it would work well enough to have three entirely separate people do his job so they would be able to take care of their daily routines.

With that, the Hokage and his escorts made their way out of the village, taking to the trees once they cleared the gates.

--

Around noon, they stopped near a river to rest. Baki wasted no time in having his three charges start getting water to refill canteens. It was a sight to see the three siblings work so well together. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought they had always been that close. After scouting upstream a fair distance to look for obvious reasons not to drink the water, such as an animal that had died in it, they began purifying it for drinking. Gaara was using his sand to filter the river water, Kankuro testing and treating it for toxins, naturally occurring and otherwise, and Temari using a small fire to boil the water, killing anything that may have been left behind.

The three fresh Konoha chuunin were watching their Suna counterparts while they set up for lunch, and almost missed noticing Zabuza and Jiraiya walk up behind them and stop, also watching.

Zabuza turned his head to look at them, and spoke in his usual gruff tones. "Impressive, isn't it? That right there is an example of why Suna is considered a force to be reckoned with, regardless of any economic problems."

"How's that?"

Jiraiya answered. "You're chuunin now, so this is something you'll learn eventually if you ever want to get very far in this lifestyle. Each ninja village is basically a business by itself, and each has its own attitudes and priorities that are designed to differentiate them from their competition and attract clients to them."

"For example?" Now Shino was getting interested, and Baki and the Suna genin were listening in, though not slowing in what they were doing. Sarutobi smiled as he rested against a tree trunk.

"Well, limiting this little lecture to just the major villages so we can save time, we'll start with Suna. Any client who goes to Suna can be pretty much guaranteed that they will get professionals to do their job, even if it's a bunch of genin. With the other villages, you can expect genin to do rather stupid things on missions occasionally; acting on impulse, leaving their post to get food or drink, or to relieve themselves. Not with Suna. With their lack of a large population, everyone depends on everyone else to do their job and do it well in order to survive. As a result, they don't have much patience for those who act without thinking, so even the newest Suna genin will often be more of a professional than jounin in some other villages. There's also their absolute loathing of people who are wasteful or gluttonous, but that's due to scarce resources."

Baki nodded to himself at the rather accurate depiction of Suna's mentality. He was somewhat surprised at the respect apparent in Jiraiya's voice.

"Next, we come to Kiri." Zabuza took over at this point. "Kiri's business model is rather simple compared to some of the other villages'. Kiri ninja will do everything they can to accomplish their goals, regardless of what it takes. That is a major part of the conditioning at the Kiri Academy, and includes sacrificing our lives or the lives of others in a heartbeat, despite personal beliefs or the other person's involvement. Simply put, if you hire Kiri to destroy a bandit outpost where there are hostages, it will be destroyed, and if the bandits try and use the hostages as meat shields, Kiri will go through the hostages without a second thought."

Seeing the new chuunin turn a little green at the concept, Jiraiya chose to move on. "Kumo is different still. They are the village of choice if a client needs something done as covertly as possible. They are experts in deception and the cloak and dagger aspects of shinobi life. They are also continual innovators, and have huge, sprawling labs and testing grounds for whatever project they might be working on.

"Iwa's way of doing things is almost the exact opposite of Konoha's, and is one of the main reasons why the two villages have never gotten along well. Iwa ninja will do the job they are hired for, and nothing more without additional payment. It can be a little infuriating for first-time customers, but appeals to enough people that they have plenty of business."

"How is that the opposite of our policy?"

"Generally, Konoha ninja will do the job we are hired for, and frequently go above and beyond what we are required or expected to do in the process, often going as far as solving the underlying problem that led to us being hired. However, not everyone appreciates an outsider getting involved in matters they don't need to be. They hired us to do one thing, and they would take care of the rest.

"That brings us back to Konoha. In addition to what I mentioned earlier, we actually focus on attracting missions from people who wouldn't normally go to a ninja village. The average civilian, one who has never dealt with ninja, and has only heard the generalizations about us, would be terrified. They see us as silent, cold-blooded killers, and would only make a mission request of us if it was their last resort. Yet, if they come to Konoha, they will be surrounded by shinobi who act like the kinds of people they are used to dealing with. Shinobi running around shopping, playing with their children, getting drunk in bars, laughing and joking, that sort of thing. We use our humanity to our advantage, instead of repressing it, so we appeal to a much wider customer base than any other village. It's a basic idea: most people prefer to deal with people similar to themselves." Turning to the Sandaime, Jiraiya asked, "How was that, sensei?"

"Very good, I'd say. The material was presented in a logical and factual manner, and the propaganda normally present in that particular lecture was kept to a minimum. If only some of the other people in Konoha who present information to me on a regular basis would follow that example. My job would be easier if I didn't have to separate the facts from their opinions for them just so I could make an informed decision."

Baki joined in, "I agree, Jiraiya-sama, and may I say, I am impressed by the respect you show to rival villages. I cannot think of many other ninja who would do the same in your position. Most are too swayed by their village's propaganda."

"Thanks. Always respecting your opponent was a lesson that was beaten into me, literally."

"Now then, let's eat. If we can leave within the next hour, we should make it to the nearest town before dark."

--

True to the Sandaime's estimate, they group made it to the town before night. Finding a hotel, they got their rooms and prepared to find dinner. Sarutobi was about to head out when someone called out.

"Hokage-sama?"

Turning, Sarutobi faced Shikamaru, Shino, and Naruto. "Yes? What can I do for you?"

"We've been thinking about what Jiraiya-sama and Zabuza-san told us in the forest, and something doesn't really sit right."

"Really? What?"

"They said that Konoha attracts clients by not acting like stereotypical ninja, but like the ordinary citizen when off duty. Does that mean our entire village's way of life is nothing more than a giant PR stunt?"

The Sandaime sighed, "Yes and no. Konoha was founded with the belief that the best ninja village was one where the ordinary citizens would not need to fear the shinobi. At the time, the existing ninja villages were all run by tyrants who ruled through fear and violence. Once the village was formally established, we needed something to make it stand out. We had the option to either develop a general personality that could represent the village, like Suna or Kiri, or to choose to specialize in a certain type of mission profile, like Kumo does. The Shodai and Nidaime realized that the beliefs that led them to found the village would make for an excellent way to attract clients, and the Konoha you know took shape from there. So while it is our main method of standing out, it has always been our way of living. So long as you are professional on the job, you can act as you want, within reason,of course, off of it. Does that answer your question?"

"Hmph. I suppose it does. You know, for someone who is against propaganda like you say you are, you sure know how to spread it."

"That is true, I admit it. It comes from years of dealing with political issues. However, my issue is not with propaganda, but with those who cannot recognize and keep it from coloring their thoughts, words and actions."

"That does make more sense. Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"My pleasure. I'm glad to see that Konoha's newest chuunin are not the type to accept things as they are presented to you. That is a good trait to have, no matter your profession."

---

Next Time: Confrontation between Teacher and Student


End file.
